Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1412: Section 1413 Attribution

The ultimate effect was just like this.

There was only one explosion, and the area it affected wasn’t large; even the Soul Realm beneath the Corpse Forest remained untouched. The only regret was that the surface structure of Black Castle had been destroyed.

For the wizards of Black Castle, the loss of reputation might have been greater than the actual damage. They couldn’t even protect their own iconic building, but in reality, their losses weren’t substantial, as the transcendental resources were all stored underground.

After Sanders had explained the entire process, the treatment on Isabella’s side was also nearing its end.

“How is Isabella doing now?” Kimberly asked. Although she didn’t like Isabella, she cared about her condition since Isabella had taken responsibility for the incident.

“Her condition has stabilized, but…” Isabella hesitated for a moment, then added, “The spell backlash was very severe, and she was also struck by the explosion, which impacted her Mind Space. It’s probably going to be difficult to heal in a short period of time.”

Upon hearing this, Kimberly furrowed her brows slightly, surprised by the severity of Isabella’s injuries.

She looked at Isabella, intending to offer some words of comfort, but realized Isabella herself didn’t seem too saddened. Instead, she looked at Isabella with eyes full of joy, seemingly pleased that Isabella was showing concern for her.

“If I have to recover, then so be it. Without destruction, there can be no rebuilding,” Isabella murmured in response.

Isabella looked at her most troublesome student with some surprise. Since her return to the Southern Domain, she had disapproved of every action Isabella had taken, but now, she finally felt a measure of relief.

“It’s good that you think this way,” Isabella nodded. “I hope you can learn from this incident and truly change. If so, you might still have a chance to walk that path, otherwise…”

Isabella didn’t finish her sentence, but Isabella understood the meaning behind her mentor’s words.

Isabella couldn’t help but feel secretly delighted; this was the first time Isabella had shown any expectations for her since her return to the Southern Domain.

The reason for Isabella’s obsessive behavior over the past thousand years was actually due to Isabella’s departure. She feared growing old and ugly, worrying that Isabella would see her aged face upon her return. Hence the reason she devised the Blood Bath Ceremony.

When Isabella returned from the Southern Domain, even without Isabella saying a word, Isabella had actually stopped the Blood Bath Ceremony on her own.

Isabella couldn’t help but nod vigorously: “I understand.”

After hearing Isabella’s reply, Isabella didn’t say more. Whether Isabella could progress further would be revealed in time. Now was the moment to deal with the aftermath of the Origin of Chaos.

Isabella rose to her feet, intending to speak to Angel, when she heard a somewhat sorrowful question from nearby, “Lady Isabella, what exactly happened? Why is Black Castle… gone?”

The one who spoke was a wizard who had come with them. Their expressions were all very downcast, clearly still grieving the loss of Black Castle.

Isabella did not speak, but Kimberly simply recounted the sequence of events.

After the explanation, the wizards still looked dejected. Isabella, seeing everyone’s disheartened appearance, shook her head and said, “It’s just the destruction of a building on the surface, nothing to be sad about. As Isabella said, without destruction, there can be no rebirth.”

“Over the years, Black Castle has rotted to the core, riddled with decay. If we want to restore Black Castle, it might as well undergo a complete upheaval from the roots. This calamity is an opportunity.”

Isabella didn’t care whether others could understand her meaning. She had this intention when she allowed the giant snake to explode in the Corpse Forest. Isabella also proved to be her worthy disciple, being the first to understand her thoughts.

Isabella approached Angel.

Her gaze first settled on Angel, full of complex emotions. Although the explosion had been hastened by Angel, without him, maybe the explosion of the three giant undead could have been even more disastrous.

Thus, Isabella’s complicated feelings were not rooted in any negative emotions toward Angel but rather in gratitude and reflection: Angel’s discernment and handling of this series of events were far superior to all the apprentices of Black Castle, even surpassing the Official Wizards, it seemed.

Moreover, Angel was a member of the research institute.

Such a talent, if he could come to Black Castle, even being a man, Isabella would make an exception to take him in.

What a pity.

Setting aside her inner reflections, Isabella formally thanked Angel. Considering Isabella’s position, her willingness to express gratitude to Angel was enough to show her magnanimity, something beyond Isabella’s comparison.

Isabella’s gaze then shifted from Angel to Princess Gumman.

Her eyes were much colder when looking at Princess Gumman. The other wizards also gathered around, expressing their indignation toward her.

Princess Gumman returned their stares with bitter resentment, the dark aura around her nearly taking physical form.

Isabel inquired a few questions to Princess Gumman, but the princess gave no response. She just kept muttering to herself:

“I hate, I hate… Why can all of you witches still be alive, why…”

“Lady Isabel, we must completely wipe her out!” some Wizards still resented the destruction of the Black Castle and carried hatred in their eyes.

“We can’t just let her vanish so easily, we should torment her with a Soul Destroying Ceremony!”

Malignant suggestions kept coming, but Princess Gumman’s expression remained unchanged; as a semi-undead, she inherently had no fear. Besides, she was already dead, and no amount of torment would bring her back to life—at worst, she would just dissipate into smoke and vanish.

Thus, faced with everyone’s malicious words, Princess Gumman could only sneer with defiance and bitterness.

If glares could curse, perhaps no one present would escape the curse of Princess Gumman.

Unable to communicate with her, Isabel also pondered how to deal with her. That’s when Angel suddenly said, “Lady Isabel, I have a request.”

Isabel looked over, and when facing Angel, she showed much gentler demeanor: “Speak.”

“Hand her over to me,” Angel indicated Princess Gumman.

Angel’s words caused displeasure among the others. For them, Princess Gumman was the source of all calamity, and only by making her disappear with their own hands could they quell their rage. But did it imply that Angel was pleading for a loathsome undead?

Isabel also frowned: “What do you mean by that?”

“She’s a quality test subject; I need to collect more data, make some records,” Angel explained, while spinning the Samsara Overture on his fingertip.

The other Wizards might not understand the specific function of the Samsara Overture, but Isabel did.

With a thought, she grasped Angel’s intention.

“You plan to use the White Light Bullet on her?” Isabel asked.

Angel nodded: “I need to collect more data; it would allow me to understand the Samsara Overture better.”

Upon hearing this, Isabel hesitated. If it were any other experiment, it would be another matter, but it was an experiment with the Samsara Overture… For Isabel, as long as Angel mentioned the Samsara Overture, she wouldn’t say it, but she actually felt somewhat guilty inside. After all, it was Angel’s opportunity to become a mysterious Alchemist, and she had forcefully snatched it away.

However, she was somewhat reluctant to simply hand Princess Gumman over to Angel.

As a special type of undead, Isabel also wanted to study Princess Gumman, after all, as a Soul Sect Wizard, she really didn’t want to let her go.

As Isabel hesitated, a Mind Ribbon connected to her.

Isabel was taken aback but accepted the Mind Ribbon connection. As soon as they connected, she heard Sanders’ voice: “Firstly, Princess Gumman was captured by Angel; he has at least half the ownership rights.”

“Secondly, since Angel inadvertently created Princess Gumman in the beginning, it would be appropriate to see it through to the end.”

“Thirdly, we want to know certain information from Princess Gumman, which we definitely cannot get now. But if we turn her into a soul, many things would become clear, right? And Angel can’t just use the White Light Bullet on her for nothing, so it would be reasonable for her to belong to Angel, wouldn’t it?”

After Sanders finished, Isabel didn’t need to retort, even Angel couldn’t help but criticize in his mind: “Sophistry.”

Such shameless words, Angel wouldn’t dare say them out loud… cough, at least, not when facing a giant like Isabel.

Isabel herself was amused. If it really came down to it, Angel’s creation of Princess Gumman led to the current turn of events at the Black Castle. Angel was a part of the karma, and couldn’t be entirely without blame.

However, just as Isabel was ready to retort, Sanders suddenly added: “The White Light Bullet is the only item known in the Southern Domain’s Wizards’ Realm that can convert an undead back into a soul. Its value is difficult to say. For someone who doesn’t care, it’s not very useful. But for someone who does, it is extremely useful. For example, if a wizard’s kin becomes an undead, they could be turned back with a White Light Bullet; or some very special undead, such as Infant Spirits, if they could be transformed into souls, the implications would be enormous…”

With Sanders’ words reaching this point, Isabel couldn’t fail to understand his meaning.

He was not only reminding Isabel about the Infant Spirits she had received from Angel but also reminding her that only Angel could purify the Infant Spirits into clean souls.

Because Isabel was actually just a remnant soul in possession of a body, the Infant Spirits were far more valuable to Isabel than this rebellious and hateful Princess Gumman.

At this point, Isabel finally conceded.

Isabel heaved a long sigh: “Very well, I can agree to hand her over to Angel to deal with, and the others from the Black Castle will not object. However, I also have a few conditions.”