Chapter 163: Farewell, Mr. Devil
When Alena opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Outside the window, it was already evening, with fiery clouds in the sky.
Looking around, she realized she was lying on a bed. As she tried to sit up, a sudden pain washed over her, from her fingers to her shoulders, an intense stinging sensation.
"You're awake? Don't move, your burns are pretty severe. Even if you're a high-level bloodline, it will take a few days to recover," said Professor Sphinx, the one who was speaking.
Alena looked at the person speaking and realized it was Professor Sphinx.
She murmured, "I... I lost?"
"Yes, you lost... Took a direct hit of dragon's breath and dragon's power, and lost consciousness," Sphinx said, sipping on milk tea and chewing on pearls. "This is serious. Quite a few people are going crazy over it."
"Why?" Alena asked.
"Why are they going crazy? It's because the one who defeated you is Michelle. She's usually soft and gentle, like a little lamb. Who would've known..."
"No, I mean, why did I lose?" Alena found it hard to accept.
"You lost, that's all there is to it. You underestimated your opponent, but she is definitely not weak. Even if you were to try again, would you be confident in winning?" Sphinx asked.
Alena fell silent.
"You should rest for a while," Sphinx said. "Having someone challenge you from time to time isn't a bad thing."
The door of the infirmary closed, and Alena lay on the hospital bed, lost in thought.
Then the door opened again, and Michelle walked in, holding a fruit basket. "Um... This is a consolation gift. Sorry, I went a little hard."
Alena looked at her, her tone unintentionally cold. "Is this to mock me as a defeated underling?"
"No, I..." Michelle rushed to explain, adjusting her mood. She put down the fruit basket and said softly, "I'm not mocking you, but you shouldn't bring up Chao Lu. She has already suffered enough misfortune. It's inappropriate to mock her like this."
"Inappropriate?" Alena retorted. "Why is it inappropriate? What's inappropriate?"
Michelle insisted, "She's my good friend."
Alena's eyes seemed to spew flames, her voice trembling. "Good friend?"
"How long have you known her?"
"What places has she taken you before?"
"How long have you lived with her?"
"She can easily manipulate you, and you follow behind her like a toy cat in the hands of a rich lady. Do you still think this is friendship?"
"Your friendship is truly cheap!"
She erupted in anger again.
Michelle didn't know what to say. She could only refute instinctively, "Chao Lu is not like that. She has always respected me... I'm just not used to standing in the foreground. I always subconsciously hide in the background."
"So you're going to hide behind her for the rest of your life? I put in so much effort and time to push you into the spotlight, and with just a few words from her, you retreat and become a shrinking turtle, is that it?"
"What happened next? She didn't even say goodbye before she left? Instead of facing her pursuer herself, she pushed you out and made you the scapegoat!"
"Do you hate Chao Lu that much?"
"Yes, I hate her! From head to toe! Inside and out! So, I'm glad to see her in trouble. I'm reveling in her misfortune, what about it?"
Her eyes were red, originally they were already red, but her fair and attractive skin contrasted against the dark red eye sockets that now appeared weary and disheveled. Taking off her elegant and proud facade, she still looked like an ordinary girl. When she was weak, her voice carried a hoarseness and fatigue, and when angry, she could become hysterical.
Michelle opened her mouth and softly said, "Alena, you weren't like this before."
This statement struck a chord with Alena, and she bit down on her sharp canine teeth, grazing the bedsheet with her nails.
"I wasn't like this before, and weren't you the same? Just stay down in the mud for the rest of your life, you country bumpkin!"
Alena angrily picked up a fruit from the basket, almost wanting to throw it, but eventually put her hand down.
In the previous moment, she seemed capable of jumping down to strangle someone, but her viciousness quickly faded away.
She turned around, back facing Michelle, and said harshly, "Get out! I don't want to see you!"
Michelle silently retreated and softly said, "Get well soon."
Alena lay on the hospital bed, holding an apple in her hand as tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.
"...Some best friend."
"...Am I not?"
...
"Your emotional intelligence is burial level," the young man burst into laughter.
"What?" Michelle was confused.
"Although your emotional intelligence is low, you have been quite lucky, encountering reliable people. Stupid people have stupid luck."
"Even though I don't understand, I know you're insulting me," Michelle unhappily said, "I'm smart."
"Well then, intelligent Michelle, do you remember what I said before?"
Michelle scratched her head and pretended to be ignorant.
"At least remember the Dragon's Blood Battle Qi."
Michelle whispered, "I'll try to learn, but I've only learned empowering and strengthening spells, I haven't learned..."
"If you haven't learned, then go learn."
"I'm not good at fire, why can I release such a powerful flame breath?"
"Dragon breath is a release of essence, not fire element. It is stored deep within your body and requires long rest periods after each use. Continuous usage will harm yourself."
"I see." Michelle covered her head, "Ah, I wanted to do spellcasting, why does it seem like my talents lie elsewhere?"
"Dragonborn is a warrior race, that's how it is naturally, but don't you still have half of your witch talents?"
"Mr. Devil, is there still potential in my witch talents?"
'I am starting to worry that you witches haven't been properly educated... But how is it that the witches from the Alliance can still be fine? How do you spend your December every year?'
"Scarlet Curse?"
'Yes.'
"It seems like the influence of the Scarlet Curse on the dark races began to grow stronger before I was even born. I don't know why, but it hasn't had a significant impact on witches. In every witch village, there are relics believed to be ancient covenants that safeguard the witches' safety."
'Relics?' Bai Wei froze, wondering when she left behind any relics.
"Yes, relics. I remember in our village... there was a rib."
"Hold on a second! A rib? Whose rib?" Bai Wei's expression couldn't hold up.
"I don't know, but it seems like it belonged to some important figure. Every year, the witch village holds a mourning ceremony at a fixed time, and the title they use is..." Michelle carefully remembered and then pronounced the name, using a pronunciation that wasn't the refined language of the present, but an ancient one used by the witch village. The meaning was...
-- Your Majesty!
Bai Wei, "..."
So the relic was actually my own... remains.
Although the emperor had died, his body didn't decay, preserving the power of the Golden Power he had bestowed.
The Golden Covenant was still in effect, and the witches maintained the covenant by worshiping the remains, ensuring they could avoid the influence of the Scarlet Curse.
But this also meant that the current witches still held beliefs in the emperor. They were still his subjects.
"Your Majesty..." Bai Wei didn't expect that even after more than four hundred years, the Scarlet Curse had been lifted, and the witches still held faith in the deceased Emperor of the Golden Empire.
Even though there was no loss in believing in a dead person, it certainly didn't have any benefits either. In the history of the Alliance, he was considered absolute evil.
"Mr. Devil, what's wrong with you?" Michelle asked.
"It's nothing, just that my time is up. I should go now."
"Time for dismissal? Are you really the one I summoned?"
"It was by chance, perhaps... it's also fate. I'm both here and everywhere." Bai Wei pretended.
"Will you come again next time?" Michelle, who had been annoyed by this voice before, now felt reluctant to part.
"I am a devil, my dear girl. The next time I come, I will collect a price and a soul..." Bai Wei warned, "Don't rely too much on me."
"I understand." Michelle said she understood, but her mood was somewhat downcast. "Goodbye, Mr. Devil."
"Goodbye, Michelle Hope." Bai Wei didn't know if he could come again next time. This time was both coincidental and fortuitous.
Returning to his homeland after a long absence, he was in a good mood. The flourishing era of the Alliance was as he wished.
"Oh, Mr. Devil, if there is a price to pay, it's alright." Michelle asked expectantly, "Can you take a look at Chao Lu for me?"
Bai Wei walked into the white mist and didn't say anything.
Because it was a matter of time, waiting for the ash tide to recede and the internal conflict to end, unless there was another soul transference like this, but is that even possible?
It's impossible, it doesn't exist, it's simply a fantasy.
