A cheerful and familiar girlish voice ca from outside the door, and Saul’s eyes widened in surprise.
He dismissed the Devil Vine by the entrance and released his ntal power.
Outside the door stood a man and a woman, and neither of them resisted Saul’s ntal scan.
With that confirmation, Saul imdiately opened the gates of Black Castle.
Standing at the doorway was Keli, her face expressionless and still faintly reflecting light from the tal shimr on her skin.
The other person frowned slightly, as if pondering what exactly “old buddy” was supposed to an.
“Keli!”
“Senior Byron!”
Saul hadn’t expected to see them both outside the Tower at the sa ti.
“How are you two showing up here together?” Saul looked at Byron first. “Could it be that you're here to take over Black Castle, Senior?”
“It’s , it’s !” Keli waved her hand in front of Saul’s face. “Senior Byron just happened to be looking for you too, so we traveled together.”
“Mm.” Byron didn’t speak, rely nodded along.
Saul was a bit surprised. He stepped aside to let his two travel-worn friends co in and rest.
The three of them walked side by side through Black Castle. Saul turned to Keli and asked, “Aren’t you still just Second Rank? How can you take over Black Castle?”
“Aren’t you Second Rank too?” Keli rolled her eyes, but it was more out of habit than irritation. “I’m not planning to run all over the place. I’ll just be staying here to study and conduct experints, and pass ssages between the Kema Duchy and the Wizard Tower when needed.”
Saul stopped walking and frowned, clearly expressing his concern. “Black Castle isn’t safe. It’d be better if a Third Rank apprentice were stationed here.”
Keli wrinkled her nose and also ca to a halt. “I know. That’s why aside from passing ssages, I won’t be leaving the castle. Plus, my ntor gave a powerful magical artifact. If anyone tries to invade, it can protect until help arrives from the Wizard Tower.”
“Besides, I had a reason for applying for this post specifically…”
Walking silently at the back, Senior Byron seed deep in thought. When Saul and Keli stopped, he kept walking and ended up bumping into Saul’s turned shoulder.
That sudden contact interrupted their conversation.
Because in that instant of physical contact with Byron, Saul felt a ripple pass through his own gray-white skin.
Though his clothes concealed it, he could feel a tiny tear open up in his skin.
It wasn’t painful, but there was sothing… squirming inside the wound.
Without a word, Saul cald his body, allowing the wound to heal on its own. He maintained a confused expression as he turned to look at Byron.
All of this had happened in the space of a fleeting mont, like a passing thought.
Only then did Keli notice sothing had happened, and she turned around. “Instead of worrying about whether I’ll be okay in Black Castle, you should probably ask how Senior Byron is doing. I think his situation is a little more urgent.”
Saul now gave Byron a serious look, and the senior stood there quietly, letting Saul observe him.
“Senior… is it the sa issue from last ti?”
Byron hesitated, then nodded, but still didn’t open his mouth to speak.
That’s when Saul realized—ever since eting Byron again, the mouth on his neck hadn’t opened at all. He’d only been using gestures or muffled hums to communicate.
Could it be that things had gotten so bad he couldn’t even speak anymore?
Saul imdiately said, “Senior, please wait for in the third-floor lab. I’ll co find you as soon as I finish handing over with Keli.”
Byron nodded.
He had spent a lot of ti near Hanging Hands Valley by Borderfall City over the past few years, and was even more familiar with Black Castle than Saul.
At the staircase in the main hall, the trio went their separate ways—one going up, the other two heading down.
Saul led Keli through the basent, past the wine cellar, and into the underground cave, finally arriving at the massive central root of the Devil Vine.
“This is the Devil Vine. When I was hastily assigned here, I only knew that by injecting my ntal power into the main root, I could beco the temporary master. But you’re taking over the job officially, so you probably know more than I did.”
“Of course.” Keli nodded proudly. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing two pale arms that rarely saw sunlight.
Her skin was flawless, and it shimred faintly with a golden luster—like a girl who had dusted herself with fine gold powder.
Saul stared at her arms.
“Do they look good?”
“Your tal toxins still haven’t been resolved?”
“I kept them on purpose,” Keli said as she pulled a blue vial from her pocket. “It’s for my next research project.”
She uncorked the vial and tossed back the contents in one gulp. Imdiately afterward, she bent over and clutched her mouth, eyes welling with tears as if she’d swallowed a tube of wasabi.
A few seconds later, she blinked the tears away and, breathing hard through her teeth, said to Saul, “What you ntioned last ti about radioactive tals gave so inspiration. I’m trying to develop a special tal toxin. But it’s hard to control, and could affect people nearby. So my ntor suggested I find a sealed, uninhabited space to continue my research. If anything goes wrong, I can contact him directly.”
“So you thought of Black Castle?” Saul remarked. “Do you know how to contact the Wizard Tower from here?”
“Of course I do! I made sure to be fully prepared before coming.” Keli raised her eyebrows smugly. “Only the official master of Black Castle can reach the Wizard Tower. A temporary master can’t. So don’t worry—I won’t end up in a crisis with no way to call for help.”
“I see.” Saul nodded in realization.
So that’s why Buri and the others had assud he couldn’t request reinforcents from the Wizard Tower.
Keli let out a long breath and raised both hands, approaching the Devil Vine as if she were about to strangle it.
[Hello, looks like you’re going to be my new master.]
The Devil Vine sounded unusually cheerful.
But Keli didn’t respond. She simply continued advancing slowly.
“You seem a little nervous,” Saul said with a bit of confusion.
She clearly knew the process of becoming Black Castle’s master, but she looked way more serious than Saul had been.
Keli stared fixedly at the Devil Vine. “Don’t talk to . My ntor told that forming a spiritual connection with the Devil Vine is extrely difficult, and that I should be ready to fail on the first try… I really don’t want to drink another ntal potion.”
Even though she told Saul to keep quiet, she just kept talking to herself.
Saul held back a laugh. “You're definitely nervous. But is it really that hard to bond with the Devil Vine?”
He gave the vine a sidelong glance.
[…]
A few of its tiny aerial roots twitched for no reason.
At last, Keli reached the vine and grabbed it with both hands. Her neatly trimd nails dug into the root’s surface, leaving little crescent-shaped marks.
Her facial muscles tensed up—mind and body straining together.
After a minute passed, she suddenly opened her eyes, lips slightly parted in surprise.
“I did it?” she pouted. “That wasn’t so hard!”
She turned to look at Saul. “Did you do sothing?”
Saul spread his hands innocently. “You were forming a bond. What could I possibly have done?”
Keli narrowed her eyes. “Hmph. The way you said that makes it even less believable!”
(End of Chapter)
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