Chapter 274: As I Wished (4K Bonus 82 83)

Lucille fell silent.

She seemed to think for a moment, but still shook her head; her visor dissolved, revealing a somewhat complicated expression.

Hmm?

Herbert keenly caught a special meaning in that gaze.

What's that look supposed to mean?

Doubt, pity, hesitation… you're looking down on me, aren't you!?

You were just hugging me and seeking guidance from me!

You cold, heartless woman, pulling out the ruthlessness, is that it?

"…Sorry."

She stared at Herbert, sizing him up seriously for quite a while, then finally shook her head slightly and said apologetically:

"Regarding this matter, I think, with your current strength… it's better that you don't know about her for now."

"Her current state isn't very stable; for you right now, she's still too dangerous."

Her?

Herbert caught the key word, narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of light in his pupils, rapidly analyzing in his mind.

Very quickly, he reached a conclusion that surprised him.

"Her" — does that mean the monster girl on the sixth floor?

There are no other people in the Third Commandment's prison, only the inmates held here.

That means — someone is trying to break out of prison?

"You mean she's trying to cross between zones?"

A monster girl trying to break out of prison?

Herbert:?

Valentina and Fu Leimei's cross-zone intrusion had already shocked Herbert greatly; he had assumed it was just a special case for those two.

But now it seemed the truth was not so.

Even the inmates on the sixth floor could cross between zones!

This conclusion shattered his previous fixed understanding of the rules here.

He had always assumed there were strict boundaries between zones, with inmates of different tiers confined to their own ranges, unable to move about freely.

But now it seemed the facts might not be so.

Could the monster girl inmates possess the ability to cross floors?

What does this imply?

Were there other hidden rules or secret passages that allowed these inmates to break through the restraints of the sealing arrays?

This discovery made Herbert hesitate; he slowly narrowed his eyes.

Perhaps this place wasn't as safe as he had imagined?

His gaze swept back and forth across the surroundings; he couldn't shake the feeling that within this seemingly calm space, an indescribable aura of danger faintly lingered.

Herbert knew this was probably just his mind playing tricks, instinctively assuming the worst, but he still hesitated.

Just as Herbert was thinking this over, Lucille's cool, clear voice broke the somewhat oppressive silence.

"Please don't worry; as far as I know, only she should possess such an ability."

Though her voice was not loud, it carried an unquestionable force, as if giving Herbert a reassuring pill.

Hmm?

Herbert tilted his head up slightly and saw the fallen angel looking down at him with lowered eyes.

"I can stop her; I won't let her leave her cage."

When making this promise to a mortal, an invisible majesty seemed to emanate from her, like a loyal guardian steadfast in her duty; one could faintly glimpse the heroic bearing she had before her fall in the dream.

Hearing this, Herbert's heart stirred; he frowned slightly, looked straight at Lucille, and asked in a probing tone:

"Why would you do this? Is it a task the Archbishop gave you?"

He had suspected before that Lucille being placed in the Aurora Sanctuary held some special meaning.

There were two reasons.

First, her position was rather special.

The Aurora Sanctuary was located on the fifth floor — both the middle tier and the special threshold between Legendary and Epic.

Below her, Legendary was the limit; above her, Epic was not the end.

And Lucille, an Epic-tier powerhouse who had fallen from Sainthood through self-sacrifice, possessed sufficient qualifications to act as a blocker when necessary.

She had the qualifications, and also the strength.

Second, there was Lucille's control over the Aurora Sanctuary.

That archmage Swanny had tinkered for hundreds of years and only barely interfered with half the permissions of the sealing arrays.

And Lucille?

She possessed full permissions.

One could say that, rather than a cage holding her, this place was more like a private space belonging solely to her.

This undisguised specialness was truly intriguing.

Upon hearing this question, Lucille first nodded gently, then slowly shook her head and explained:

"That lord did indeed ask me to block other inmates attempting to cross boundaries, but it wasn't a mandatory order — I can do it as I see fit."

And this sentence revealed another piece of information: the Archbishop had given Lucille considerable freedom.

Do it if she wanted, no problem if she didn't — at her discretion.

"You can stop her?"

Luciel nodded, her expression calm and matter-of-fact, and said lightly: "I can, if you need it."

She deliberately paused and emphasized the word "you."

Not out of obedience to the Archbishop.

But to fulfill Herbert's request.

If you wish it.

Herbert caught the meaning behind Luciel's words, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward into a faintly teasing smile, and asked with some curiosity:

"Is this you trying to curry favor with me?"

How strange — why is the fallen angel Young Lady suddenly acting so attentive?

Luciel smiled faintly, gently shook her head, and her long black hair swayed slightly with the motion.

She knelt on one knee before Herbert and said softly: "Consider it an apology for before, and a repayment for you guiding my path."

Luciel was deeply grateful to Herbert.

She had dragged Herbert into the Illusion, trying to let him find his own path, only to discover that she herself was the one who was lost.

Without Herbert's "help" — pointing out her condition — Luciel knew she might have wandered much longer in that endless darkness and confusion.

Once, in the distant past, on the day of her fall, she had made a solemn oath — "I will make the blazing sun fall."

This could hardly even be called an oath; it was merely a wish so absurd it could not be more so.

Nothing more than a pipe dream.

A creation born of the gods actually craving the death of its creator?

How laughable that was.

But at the time, Luciel had made that oath with unwavering resolve.

Even if there was no hope, even if she could not do it, she still wanted to strive toward that goal.

Back then, she was full of passion and conviction, firmly believing she would achieve that aim.

Yet, as time passed, she gradually lost herself on the path of pursuing that oath.

Those once-crystal-clear goals grew blurred amid the day-after-day pursuit by her former companions.

All that remained in her heart was slaughter.

Kill every pursuer, kill every follower of the blazing sun!

Day after day, year after year.

That was a stretch of blurred memory stained red with blood.

It was not until she accepted that lord's invitation and came to the Mist Monastery that she finally gained time to catch her breath, spending a hundred years slowly recovering from that killing-mad state.

But after recovering, she had also forgotten much.

She remembered her defiance toward the blazing sun, but forgot to consider why she resented it in the first place.

It was not until Herbert's reminder that she finally recalled what she ought to be doing.

Thinking.

Not idle talk of empty thoughts, but truly seeking out a genuinely viable path that could set the blazing sun's wrongs to right.

"As repayment for all of this, so long as Lord Herbert has any wish, I shall fulfill it as you desire."

So long as you need it, then I will surely not fail your expectations.

There was not a trace of falsehood in Luciel's words; all of it came from the heart.

However, the reaction of the young man before her was not quite what she had expected.

"Oh?"

After hearing her reasoning, Herbert paused briefly, then softly said "Oh," drawing the syllable out long, as if digesting everything Luciel had said.

Immediately after, the young man slowly nodded, unhurried in his movements, as though each nod were a moment of thought and weighing of that reason, murmuring:

"I see."

His gaze settled on Luciel, his deep eyes full of calm, with a hint of playfulness within, making it hard to fathom his true inner thoughts.

He quietly regarded the fallen angel displaying a humble posture before him, a peculiar emotion stirring in his heart.

Luciel naturally carried an air of mystery and pride, mingled with a tragic beauty born of struggling within her fall.

Her present modest and deferential bearing made that complex, stunning beauty stand out all the more.

But what truly made Herbert's gaze playful was not that astonishing charm.

Herbert raised his hand, the motion gentle and slow, as though afraid of startling the person before him, and let it come to rest upon the fallen angel's pitch-black wings.

His fingers lightly stroked those soft, fine feathers, feeling the unique texture transmitted through his fingertips, as though exploring a rare treasure.

Yet this gentle gesture made Luciel feel a twinge of unease, but she did not flee — she merely gave an unaccustomed flutter of her wings.

After playing with it for a moment, Herbert laughed softly, the laughter warm and tinged with casualness: "Rather than reasons of apology and gratitude, I'd actually prefer some other reason."

"Not doing it for me, but doing it for yourself."

"Think about it again?"

For myself?

Luciel, who had been holding her head lowered, lifted it in confusion upon hearing this, her clear eyes full of puzzlement as she looked straight at Herbert.

I hold no grudge against the other prisoners — why should I stop them?

She tried to find the answer in Herbert's expression, only to discover that he merely wore a smile, one warm and mysterious like the springtime sun.

And after a few seconds of meeting Herbert's gaze, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Luciel's mind, as though a bolt of lightning had cut across the dark night sky.

!!!

Luciel suddenly understood the deeper meaning behind Herbert's words.

She was seen rising gently, her posture elegant and upright, stepping lightly as she walked over to stand before Herbert.

She bent down slightly, her arms wrapping tenderly around Herbert, carefully and gently lifting him into her embrace.

Lucille lowered her head, her lips drawing close to Herbert's ear, her voice soft as a breeze brushing past leaves, and whispered:

"You're right. It shouldn't be for a reason like that."

"The reason I would do it is because I want to, because I want to help you."

At that moment, the air in the sanctuary seemed to freeze; all the fallen hymns abruptly cut off, as if time itself had stopped.

Her words were full of sincere emotion — a longing that welled up from the depths of her heart.

Lucille had finally noticed.

Thought. Will. Her own ideas.

Nothing to do with anything else.

Not out of apology or gratitude.

Simply out of her own will.

She wanted to stand by Herbert's side, to give him support and help.

So she did it.

Just that simple.

"Hehe, you've indeed thought it through."

Herbert felt the warmth of Lucille's embrace and heard her soft whisper in his ear, and could not help sighing within.

This child really catches on at the slightest hint.

This usually enigmatic fallen angel had unexpectedly shown such a frank and sincere side, which truly caught him off guard and inexplicably gave him a sense of accomplishment.

Truly, the Ruzike Sect.

It took hardly any effort to teach her — far better than a certain dragon… ahem.

After a while, Herbert slowly opened his eyes, gently patted Lucille on the back, signaling her to let go.

Lucille slowly released Herbert; the two exchanged a smile, and the distance between them seemed to close considerably in that instant.

Herbert could feel he had taken another big step closer to breaking through the wall of Lucille's heart.

Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, he asked: "Oh right, Lucille, may I ask you a favor?"

……

……

The Lava Hell.

The Devil Young Lady was half-slumped on her Wang Zuo, gazing at the dome in utter boredom.

"So~ bo~ ring~ —"

Ever since she could no longer idly pester Flora and mess her up, Kreti had lost a great deal of amusement.

In the past, although pestering her would earn her a beating afterward — seemingly more loss than gain — it was still one of the few ways to pass the time in her life as a prisoner.

When that fellow was here before, although he was annoying, he really was talkative.

He could chat about all sorts of things — even knowledge that ordinary commoners, and even nobles, weren't particularly versed in.

And the noble souls Herbert had brought last time, Kreti had already grown tired of them.

"I've already gone through those fellows' soul memories over a dozen times, I really don't want to watch how they messed around at balls anymore…"

Depraved, bloody, mad… that batch's quality was decent, matching her tastes.

But still, no matter how interesting a thing is, you lose interest after seeing it too much.

"The messages Herbert told me to search for — not many are valuable, just one slave trade route related to the Underdark that might be of some use."

Kreti muttered, pondering how to haggle with Herbert over the price.

"Tch, when is that fellow coming back already, I'm so bored! Tch, should I go test that damned demon?"

I'll just test her a little, she shouldn't flip out on me outright, right?

Just as Kreti was yawning and preparing to risk being strung up and whipped to go pester Flora, a clear, gentle voice sounded from behind her.

"Did you just say the Underdark?"

Kreti:?

The Devil Young Lady's eyes lit up; she whirled around and cried out joyfully:

"Haha! You're finally back! Do you have any idea how long I've waited for you… hss, what kind of outfit is that?"

She stared at the youth who was bristling all over with black feathers, and couldn't help blinking.

Eh?

What the heck is this!?!

(End of this chapter)