Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1486: Section 1487: The True Face of the Pursuer Chapter 1486: Section 1487: The True Face of the Pursuer As Alex had surmised, Mrs. Connie didnʼt tell anyone; she returned from the church, hastily packed a bundle, and immediately left her desolate home.

Mrs. Connie walked away from Gust Town.

At first, she was somewhat in a daze, stumbling along the way and moving very slowly. It wasnʼt until the sun set and the downy Nightfall spread across the sky, accompanied by the sound of rolling water near her ears, that Mrs. Connie finally lifted her head out of her reverie.

Only then did she realize that she had wandered far from Gust Town in her trance, and had now already reached the bank of the long river.

Not far ahead was the stone bridge where her sonʼs head had been found.

Upon seeing the stone bridge, tears instantly welled up in Mrs. Connieʼs eyes. She hurried toward the bridge with large strides, her gaze filled with sorrow, continuously calling out Ravenʼs name.

Meanwhile, a hundred meters behind Mrs. Connie, behind a large tree, Alex watched the scene unfold with a calm demeanor.

“Although Iʼm not sure whether this ʼcageʼ is real or fake, Mrs. Connieʼs feelings for her son are certainly genuine,” Angel said, floating behind Alex, looking at the distant scene filled with deep affection, and whispered softly, “Do you have the heart to send her into the Abyss like this?”

“What I did was merely tell Mrs. Connie a part of the truth,” Alex replied, his eyes remained imperturbable, yet a slight ripple stirred in his heart. As he watched the scene before him, he seemed to be recalling a memory, in which an obscure figure slowly turned its head within the depths of his mind.

Yet, no matter how hard Alex tried, he could not see the face of the figure.

“If I wasnʼt in a ʼcage,ʼ would the words I said to Mrs. Connie be harmful?” Alex asked and answered himself, “No. So, the fault lies not with me, but with this ʼcage.ʼ”

Alex articulated his cruel words in a calm and collected manner.

Angel raised an eyebrow: On the surface, this line of reasoning seemed to make some sense, but upon closer examination, it was clear that Alex was equivocating.

Angel didnʼt bother to correct him, and he believed that even if he did, Alex would most likely just say, “Oh, I see,” giving a superficial acknowledgment while continuing his own agenda behind the scenes, just as he had treated Priest Beren Lang.

Most importantly, Angel was well aware that Alex wasnʼt ignorant or in denial about his actions, nor was he trying to place himself on some moral high ground.

Alex was very aware of what heʼd done and said.

His coldness went deep to the bone.

This was a truly unique and intriguing person.

Angel increasingly felt that perhaps Alex was indeed the very purpose for the ʼcageʼsʼ creation?

Just then, a wail came from the distance. Mrs. Connie was kneeling by the river, staring at the rope on the bridge pier, her tears flowing uncontrollably.

Alex, looking at the scene in the distance, suddenly said, “If the ʼcageʼ is the second form that Mr. Pat spoke of, something created by the cageʼs owner, then are Mrs. Connie and Knight Raven really mother and son?”

“There is indeed a slight possibility they are not,” Angel replied.

Alexʼs lips curved up slightly, “Then Iʼm very curious. If all of this is fabricated, why would the creator of the cage inflict these meaningless emotions upon them?”

“After all, as long as there are emotional connections, variables will arise. When the people living inside the cage begin to harbor thoughts of leaving, even unknowingly, that constitutes a variable. So what does it mean to eliminate this group of caged birds?”

In summary, the question was: What exactly is the creator of the ʼcageʼ trying to achieve?

When Mrs. Connieʼs wailing gradually ceased, she stayed by the river for a long time, until a cold breeze made her shiver, snapping her back to reality.

Seeing the dim night, Mrs. Connie seemed somewhat afraid. She took a lighter from her bundle and lit the hand lantern she had prepared in advance.

The dim light brought a glimmer of consolation to Mrs. Connie. She slowly stood up and gazed at the rope hanging from the bridge pier, whispering softly, “Your last wish, I will fulfill it for you so that you may go to the kingdom of God without any regrets…”

Having said this, Mrs. Connie took a deep breath, her eyes becoming sharper, and she walked towards the bridge with more determination than before.

Seeing Mrs. Connie continuing to move forward, Alex followed her from a distance.

“Mr. Pat, how much farther is it to the edge of the ʼcageʼ?”

Angel: “Given Mrs. Connieʼs pace, she should get there in about an hour or so.”

Alex nodded, his gaze filled with contemplation. He now had a question in mind: Were the victims of the serial killings murdered only after discovering the true nature of the ʼcage,ʼ or were they found by the murderer before reaching the edge?

If the latter were true, then it meant that the murderer might already be nearby, right?

However, both Alex and Angel leaned towards the former theory, believing that the victims were killed only after discovering the truth of the ʼcage.ʼ Perhaps the barrier of the ʼcageʼ was rigged with some sort of mechanism that alerted the killer once someone touched it.

Just to be safe, Alex became even more cautious.

Time passed slowly, and Mrs. Connie had been away from the stone bridge for an hour, without any incidents.

Because the main road was cut off, Mrs. Connie was actually beginning to traverse mountains and forests. The forest at night inherently carried a terrifying atmosphere, not to mention the various dangerous snakes and insects. Mrs. Connieʼs steps had noticeably slowed, so an hour had passed, and she still hadnʼt reached the barrier of the ʼcage.ʼ

Appearing to be tired from the walk, Mrs. Connie found a stone stump to rest her feet for a while.

A few dozen meters behind Mrs. Connie, Angel descended slowly from the sky, landing beside Alex: “Sheʼs less than a hundred meters away from the Cage Wall.”

Upon hearing this, Alex nodded gravely.

Whether Mrs. Connie had discovered the truth or not, this place had become somewhat dangerous–the murderer could appear at any time.

Mrs. Connie took only a short rest before she stood up and walked ahead. Alex didnʼt dare to follow closely, he could only watch from a distance as Mrs. Connie, holding her lantern, walked towards the darkness and disappeared from sight.

Alex waited silently.

A minute later, a piercing scream suddenly tore through the night sky.

That scream… it was Mrs. Connie!

Had the murderer finally appeared? Alexʼs head shot up abruptly as he looked in the direction of the sound. At first, there was no trace, but soon, a figure holding a lantern ran panickedly towards him.

A gust of mountain breeze blew by, and Alex caught a faint scent of blood.

Alex was hiding in the crack between two stones at the moment, peeking out stealthily, trying to see who the murderer was. However, Mrs. Connie was still some distance away, making it difficult to see clearly at first glance.

“Huh?” Alex suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him. Turning his head, he saw Angel with his eyebrows furrowed deeply, apparently having discovered something in the dim moonlight.

Alex wanted to ask Angel about the situation, but he didnʼt dare make a sound at that moment, fearing that it would attract the murdererʼs attention. He could only continue to look through the crack between the stones.

As the scent of blood in the wind grew stronger, it indicated that Mrs. Connie was getting closer to Alexʼs hiding place.

The closer it got to this moment, the calmer Alex felt. He didnʼt let out a single breath, like a wolf hunting in the night, silently stalking the source of the blood.

A flash of light!

When the lantern light suddenly flared up nearby, Alexʼs pupils constricted, and he finally saw the assailant chasing Mrs. Connie.

But when Alex saw who it was, his mind exploded with shock.

Why was it him? How could it be him?!

Mrs. Connie was now only about twenty meters away from where Alex was hiding, due to the undulating terrain, she hadnʼt thought to run towards Alexʼs direction; instead, she was running quickly down the slope.

In the faint light of the lantern that Mrs. Connie was struggling to hold, along with the weak moonlight, it was clear that her left hand, from the elbow down, had completely vanished. The rich smell of blood in the wind was emanating from there.

Mrs. Connie continued to gasp for breath, the pursuer behind her getting closer and closer, fear evident on her face.

Suddenly, Mrs. Connie slipped, falling to the ground, and the lantern she was holding described an arc through the air before falling.

When the lantern hit the ground, the feeble flame illuminated a pair of feet.

The pursuer was clearly behind her, how could there be another pair of feet in front? In her panic, Mrs. Connie looked up only to see the feet belonged to a shapely woman with a face twisted in malice.

“Is, is it you… how could it be?” Mrs. Connie trembled as she looked at the woman.

Meanwhile, behind her, the pursuer also stepped into the light.

He was a man nearing two meters in height, clad in dark bronze armor, a knightʼs sword at his belt, though now only the scabbard remained– the blade was in his hand.

The manʼs features should have been handsome, but unfortunately, like the newly appeared woman, his face was twisted with spite and cruelty.

As the man with the knightʼs sword drew nearer step by step, Mrs. Connie kept crying.

“Raven, Raven… itʼs Mama, donʼt you recognize Mama?”

Mrs. Connieʼs words caused Angel, who was watching from a distance, to raise an eyebrow, glancing at Alex. Alex nodded slightly at him, confirming the manʼs identity.

This pursuer was none other than the recently tragically deceased Knight Raven! He was also Mrs. Connieʼs only son!

Mrs. Connie now lay on the ground, unable to move, watching in horror as her once-dead son slowly approached her.

On the other side, the newly appeared woman was also moving closer to Mrs. Connie, exuding a thick malice.

Mrs. Connie felt the world had become so strange. Why had her dead son come back to life, no longer recognizing her, intent on killing her? This Camelot, hadnʼt she died a year ago, why was she still here?

And just now, as she was about to go forward, why did she hit a wall? Clearly, it was open space in front of her…

Why had the world suddenly become so alien?