Thud, thud, thud. The somber echo of footfalls and the scepter striking the ground reverberated through the vast hall. As Ansel advanced step by step, the torches on the pillars on either side of the hall ignited with a faint purple fla. Saville, who had always obeyed Ansel, stood behind him, his posture markedly different from usual. The old man bowed his head slightly, one hand on his chest, the other behind his back, following Ansel in a manner of paying homage, as if he were in the presence of a great entity, eting the supre king he served.
And indeed, that was the case.
This grand hall was a treasure from the ancient Sky Conquering Dynasty, a royal relic of significant weight in the history of the empire, excavated from the Zero Realm Enigma by Flalle with the combined power of seven pact heads. Flalle had transford it into the strongest alchemical fortress in the world. Of course, Flalle himself was a lover of peace and had no interest in war. He had built this terrifying fortress for deterrence and amusent.
"Oh, the young lord has returned?" A slightly immature boy's voice suddenly echoed in the empty hall.
"...Lawrence." Ansel paused, looking down at his feet with a gentle smile, "Long ti no see."
"Hmm... It's been about two months, hasn't it?" At Ansel's feet was a... rat, folding its arms. Yes, a rat with grey-black fur, long whiskers, and a sowhat plump appearance. On the rat's long tail was a snake-shaped ring with its mouth wide open, as if swallowing sothing.
The rat nodded seriously, "This is the first ti the young lord has traveled so far. Old Saville, have you taken good care of the young lord?"
Lawrence of Disaster, the head of devouring. "Mr. Lawrence, the young lord doesn't need anyone to take care of him. What I need to do is just follow the young lord's orders," Saville maintained his respectful posture, "And on the Nostrom, please maintain respect for the lord."
"Ah, you're always so serious, no wonder the young lord wants to take you with him and not ." Lawrence shook his whiskers, shaking his head with a sigh, "Alright, follow . Although I don't know why the young lord ca to see the boss personally, it must be very important."
The plump rat led the way, they passed through the long main hall, navigating through the labyrinthine fortress. Lawrence guided them while chattering: "Young lord, have you heard about Tyrus? That guy crawled ashore from the city of Azurehaven the day before yesterday, dragging a dragonwhale with him. I was wondering where he had disappeared to for half a month, turns out he went on vacation in the Lost Sea, no wonder I couldn't find him."
"Toradon blew up an elental tower, that Duke of Magus Primus went mad, searching for the culprit throughout the empire, but still doesn't know who did it."
"And Longinus... Longinus is even more amazing, he..."
The rat, which didn't look particularly dirty but rather amusing, sighed, "Everyone's life is so exciting, why can I, Lawrence, only scurry around in the sewers, or lie on the boss's experintal table, without even a chance to make a na for myself?"
"And Longinus... Longinus is even more amazing, he..."
The rat, which didn't look particularly dirty but rather amusing, sighed, "Everyone's life is so exciting, why can I, Lawrence, only scurry around in the sewers, or lie on the boss's experintal table, without even a chance to make a na for myself?"
It turned to look at Saville, sympathetically saying, "Speaking of which, Old Saville, you and I are in the sa boat. Ah no... I seem to be a bit better than you, at least a few people know about , Lawrence the rat, but it seems that no one knows you, hahaha."
Saville ignored him, and they had arrived at a tightly closed door. Lawrence stopped talking nonsense, turned to Ansel and said, "The boss was doing an experint just now, but since the young lord is here, he should have stopped by now. Old Saville and I will wait for you outside, young lord."
Ansel didn't say a word, silently pushed open the heavy door, and disappeared into the automatically closing door.
Lawrence looked up at the door that was like a mountain to him, made sure it was closed, and imdiately scurried onto Saville's shoulder. The rat whispered in the old butler's ear, "Old Saville, why would the young lord take the initiative to find the boss, what big thing happened!"
To be honest, when Lawrence knew that Ansel was coming to the Nostrom, he was completely stunned. As Flalle's pact heads, they knew better than anyone how complex the relationship between this father and son was.
"...I'm not sure either." Saville sighed deeply, "It's an inescapable responsibility."
"Eh, you don't know either?" Lawrence was taken aback, his expression even more horrified — to be honest, although he was just a rat, his expressions were as vivid as a human's.
"Sothing even you have to keep secret..."
The rat gasped, "How serious it must be."
Within the confines of the house, in one of the countless alchemical chambers of the renowned Nostrom, Ansel, leaning on his scepter, gazed at the man standing in the center of the magic circle, surrounded by nurous peculiar apparatus. After a mont of silence, he softly uttered, "It's been a while, Father."
"…Hmm? Oh, Ans."
The man turned his head to glance at Ansel, his eyes filled with surprise and delight. He laughed heartily, "Wait a mont, I'm adjusting… adjusting sothing."
Sothing seed to be forming in his palm, an indescribable entity gradually taking shape, existing between reality and non-existence. Its faintly appearing outline caused distortions in the surrounding space.
Ansel closed his eyes, quietly waiting for his father.
Ti ticked away, and after an unknown duration, a loud explosion suddenly erupted near his ear. However, the sound vanished as quickly as it had appeared, creating an eerie atmosphere.
"This is quite a challenge… Never mind, Ans, sorry to keep you waiting."
Upon hearing these words, Ansel opened his eyes to see his father had finished his experint and was looking at him with a cheerful smile.
He looked like a more mature version of Ansel, minus the sinister charm. His hair color was completely different from Ansel's, his sowhat ssy dium-length hair was deep black.
The man's laughter was hearty, in contrast to Ansel's inscrutable smile, he seed more straightforward and kind. Just by looking at him, no one would believe… that beneath this skin, a creature teetering on the brink of madness resided.
"It's been two years, hasn't it?"
Flalle, the true and most terrifying villain of the empire, stepped forward, patting Ansel's head, expressing his surprise and sentint, "So much has changed in two years… It's really—"
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