After confirming that Buri had ridden away from Black Castle Forest, Saul returned to the main root of the Devil Vine in the basent.
Ever since he was ambushed by the Land Drifters, he had relocated here to study and research.
This was the most defensively secure part of the Devil Vine, and it also made communication with the plant far easier.
After placing a mark using the fresh corpse of Cadis, Saul had been waiting patiently for soone to take the bait.
He believed that as long as Cadis failed to report back, soone would inevitably co to inspect whether the mark had been completed.
That person could be soone he knew—or soone he didn’t.
And since Cadis's attack, only Buri had shown up at Black Castle.
Of course, Saul hadn’t jumped to conclusions so easily.
When he sensed Buri approaching the front gate, he deliberately opened the door, but made sure not to let Buri see him. As he listened to the man’s voice, brimming with grievance yet trying hard to stay composed, he felt the mark within his spirit—already baptized by the Diary—suddenly flicker.
At the sa ti, Saul sensed a ntal force probing through the Devil Vine, scanning his direction.
Even if he questioned Buri, the man could easily offer an explanation: he was rely concerned about Saul and used his ntal force to check on the castle.
Having confird that Buri was a problem, Saul decided not to communicate further. The longer the interaction, the higher the risk of exposing the flaw in the mark.
Buri had likely gotten the confirmation he needed. Now it was only a matter of waiting for the one who cultivated the mark to appear.
While waiting, Saul didn’t stay idle. He continued delving into Touch of Tornt, while trying to integrate his Soulfishing ability into this Second Rank spell.
Soulfishing was a technique he had developed by altering his soul’s state into that of an octopus's tentacle, allowing him to absorb others’ soul forms.
His second body modification had already enabled his skin to absorb the soul. In addition, he possessed the Death Wizard’s Diary—an item that could dominantly devour both soul and consciousness.
The fusion of these two powers had produced a terrifying ability capable of ripping a soul straight out of the flesh.
Of course, the strength of the enemies Saul could fish depended heavily on the strength of his own soul form.
At his current level, he could easily fish up an ordinary Third Rank student. But if the target was particularly skilled in soul-related magic or possessed strong protective magical items, his attempt could still fail.
This was Saul’s external strategy to defeat enemies, built upon his own abilities and golden finger.
He also had an internal tactic for defeating stronger foes within his ntal realm. However, this thod was still in theory, as two key problems remained unsolved: how to construct the ntal realm stably and reliably anywhere, anyti—and how to drag an enemy's soul consciousness into it.
Thus, the internal ntal battlefield was still just a concept.
After encountering Buri, the Third Rank wizard apprentice, and confirming him as an enemy, Saul had intentionally given the impression that he'd been implanted with a mark during his fight with Cadis.
“A cultivated mark, once triggered, can briefly throw soone into confusion—or force them to follow a subconscious command. As for , there are only two things worth this group’s scheming: my identity as Gorsa’s apprentice… and the Diary.”
“But the Diary seems less likely. So far, the only one who knows about its existence is Kist. From my interactions with him, it seems like the Diary isn’t his goal. Still, that guy has deep ties to it. His true motives are unclear for now.”
“For the mont, I’ll just wait for the enemies to surface on their own.”
Saul turned to look at Little Algae.
This creature had completely taken over the Devil's Vine’s territory. Now, half the basent was filled with black tendrils that gleefully stretched upward every day.
The white mushrooms Saul had once seen in the passageways were now completely gone. Occasionally, he could even hear what sounded like the Devil's Vine sobbing.
“Little Algae,” Saul called out to the creature perched behind his neck.
Little Algae answered imdiately, stretching its head toward Saul. Its shark-like mouth opened wide, tongue lolling out as it made playful noises.
“Pulururu.”
Saul reached out to pinch it, and Little Algae quickly dodged away.
Ever since Saul had twice clamped its tongue between its jaws, Little Algae had beco obsessed with the ga of “You can’t catch .”
“You win,” Saul said with a smile, beckoning Little Algae over.
Little Algae approached with its usual lack of caution.
“In a bit, I’m going to perform an experint on you. Be good and don’t move.”
Little Algae bobbed its head up and down.
Saul could faintly feel that the mysterious ability he had obtained from the Nightmare Butterfly—History Watcher—was about to fade today.
These past few days, stuck inside Black Castle, he hadn't found a better target to observe.
So today, he decided to observe Little Algae.
But the problem with an ancient, demonic creature was its potentially long and dull history.
Saul didn’t want to activate the power only to watch scenes of Little Algae eating, drinking, and… other mundane activities.
He needed to test whether he could lock onto a specific period or individual within its mories.
Saul lifted his hand and patted Little Algae on the head. “Little Algae, do you still rember Lady Yura, the one who once planted you beneath the Wizard Tower?”
Little Algae stopped its gleeful movents for a mont, then hesitantly nodded.
“Then in your mory, do you recall any scenes where you saw both Tower Master Gorsa and Lady Yura at the sa ti?”
Little Algae’s body began to tremble slightly.
“So there are… and they may not be pleasant mories,” Saul sighed, stroking Little Algae’s head again. “I’m sorry. I want to know what really happened back then—so I can figure out what they’re planning.”
With that, Saul activated his ntal force, channeling it into his eyes. His black pupils instantly turned silver.
In his vision, Little Algae transford into a deep black mist, enveloping everything.
In the next mont, the mist parted, and Saul found himself inside a brightly lit laboratory.
The lab had a peculiar but familiar layout.
It was large, but the floor all around was covered in black mud. Only the center featured a raised stone platform.
On the platform stood two long experint tables, cluttered with various tools and materials.
Between the tables was a recessed rectangular space.
The shape of the recess resembled a coffin.
The vision shifted to focus on the coffin-shaped space. Inside it lay a golden-haired woman of extraordinary beauty.
The mont Saul saw her, he recognized her identity.
“Lady Yura.”
As he looked into her eyes, the woman suddenly opened them.
Their gazes t in midair, and Yura smiled radiantly.
“You’re here,” she said.
The vision moved upward, shifting behind Saul.
He saw a man standing in the shadows of a suspended hallway along the wall.
Tall and slender, the man stood quietly.
Then, in a flash, he appeared beside the coffin recess, standing on the edge of the platform, looking down at Yura.
“Was that you just now?” the man asked gently. His unkempt gray hair hung over his eyes, and his silver pupils shimred with warmth.
Seeing those slightly curved eyes as the man smiled, Saul imdiately recognized him.
“Tower Master Gorsa?”
So this is what the Tower Master looked like before he mummified himself. He resembled a scholar or a doctor—mild in temperant.
Gone was the eerie aura of the “Big Pink” who wandered under the light.
(End of Chapter)
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