Chapter 1217: The Death of a Great Arcanist, Awaiting

Xia Duo immediately realized that the hunter's reinforcements had arrived!

Given this movement, the reinforcements were definitely significant; he took a deep breath of air that did not actually exist, felt for a heartbeat that also did not actually exist, and then, without any hesitation, immediately chose to leave the Astral Plane.

As for Suo En and Kelifu, he could no longer concern himself with them; with such a commotion, it was impossible for Suo En and Kelifu not to have noticed.

With the appearance of such an almost irresistible factor, his early departure was within the scope of their agreement.

……

Returning to the Main Plane, Xia Duo opened his eyes, just in time to see Kelifu beside him also opening his eyes; those eyes, which should have been calm, composed, or perhaps weary, were now filled with horror.

"Lord Kelifu, what happened?" Xia Duo asked with concern.

Kelifu was about to speak, but froze on the spot; immediately after, Xia Duo saw Kelifu crumble suddenly, like a fragile piece of porcelain falling to the ground.

Xia Duo was startled by this scene; he instinctively jumped aside, then, forcing himself to endure his mental exhaustion, cast a series of Protective Spells upon himself one after another.

Only then did he attempt to examine the bright golden Mage Robe that had drifted to the ground, carrying Kelifu's ashes, as well as the Scepter of the Sun that had fallen three or five steps away.

"What on earth is going on?"

Xia Duo was filled with confusion; could Kelifu have died in that battle in the Astral Plane? What about Suo En? Didn't Suo En say he had the ability to leave at any time? Why hadn't he appeared yet?

If he could, Xia Duo would truly want to flee this place; involving the death of a Great Arcanist, one could imagine how much trouble this would entail.

Furthermore, Kelifu was not a member of Giles Tower, yet he happened to die right here; Giles Tower would also be in big trouble.

And the trouble of Giles Tower would bring even greater trouble to Xia Duo.

It was impossible to explain clearly; it was simply a massive headache.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one had discovered it yet, Xia Duo immediately contacted Iolum and briefly explained the matter, without adding any subjective descriptions.

Afterward, without waiting for Iolum's reply, he contacted Niya, telling her the same thing along with the cause and effect, and emphatically reminded Niya to guard the Tower of Time well and wait for his return with peace of mind.

After doing all this, Xia Duo continued to examine Kelifu's relics, while also waiting for a reply with great trepidation; Niya's reply came almost without delay.

She only replied with one sentence, "Understood, I will wait for you at the Tower of Time," and nothing more; however, Xia Duo believed that Niya would make the most correct choice.

As for Iolum, his reply was long overdue after Niya's, which made Xia Duo's heart beat with anxiety; could this exploration of the Astral Dream Ruins be a conspiracy orchestrated by Iolum?

Although rationally, Xia Duo felt it was unlikely to be Iolum, in the current situation, he still could not help but make the connection.

Once suspicion takes root in a person's heart, it is truly difficult to suppress.

His other object of suspicion was Suo En; as an Eternal Holy Spirit, his connection to the Main Plane was weak, and perhaps he had betrayed Kelifu to certain Astral Plane forces for some benefit.

As for Giles Tower, Xia Duo did not have much suspicion there; after all, the person died in Giles Tower, and the fact that Xia Duo and Kelifu were coming to Giles Tower was not a secret.

Outside of Giles Tower, to Xia Duo's knowledge alone, Lord Leisen and his son knew, as did Iolum, and perhaps there were others.

Since it was not a secret, wouldn't it be too stupid to lure someone over just to kill them?

Furthermore, if it really were Giles Tower, there would be no need to go on an Astral Plane journey at all; they could just lure him in and kill him directly.

Xia Duo believed that even a Great Arcanist would find it difficult to put up effective resistance inside another person's Mage Tower; simply put, if Kelifu entered the Tower of Time, Xia Duo would have the confidence to kill him.

Of course, the suspicion of Giles Tower could not be completely ruled out; perhaps they were just utilizing this "darkness under the lamp" effect!

As for why they didn't kill him directly but instead lured him to the Astral Plane first, perhaps it was to manufacture a special cause of death!

Regardless, turning to dust was certainly not a normal way to die as far as Xia Duo understood.

For a moment, Xia Duo's mind was in chaos; he had always hated such events shrouded in mist, as lacking sufficient power and background made it easy to become someone else's pawn without even knowing it.

The current situation could be said to be the most bizarre and difficult-to-control event he had encountered since his transmigration.

Upon inspection, all of Kelifu's relics had lost their attuned state; they were not in the state of Magic Items taken directly from a living person.

They were completely and utterly independent dead objects!

This also meant that there was a high probability that Kelifu had truly perished!

Previously, he had held onto a glimmer of hope, thinking that this might be some kind of facade, and that deep down, Kelifu had used this seemingly bizarre method to escape.

But Magic Items do not lie; their current state was the most direct evidence.

"What should be done about this?"

Just as Xia Duo was feeling apprehensive and uneasy, thinking about whether to grab what he could and run, the characteristic Magic Net oscillation signal of a Teleportation Spell suddenly appeared within this Projection Hall.

At this moment, Xia Duo was struggling internally; he himself was a suspect in the current situation, and not a minor one at that—three people went to the Astral Plane, and he was the only one still alive—at least until Suo En appeared!

No matter how you looked at it, it was somewhat abnormal.

Once the teleportation was complete, how he would be treated was anyone's guess; if it were an accident, that would be fine, and as a Senior Arcanist, he would likely be fine.

But if there were a conspiracy involved, let alone a Senior Arcanist, even a Great Arcanist would have to shed half a layer of skin if a black pot were thrown at them.

And if he were to run, as of now, Xia Duo was confident he could get away, but if he ran, wouldn't that confirm his own suspicion, leaving him with basically no place in Netheril?

As someone from his homeland, Xia Duo had a sentimental attachment to his roots; transmigration was not his choice, but since he had already transmigrated, he would adapt to his circumstances—where the heart is at peace, there is home.

The current Savile Territory and Daxia Territory were his second home; if possible, he still did not wish to give them up so easily.

Various thoughts swirled in Xia Duo's mind; he did not choose to run, but instead chose to stay here and wait for his fate.

Although he was unwilling to admit it, it was indeed his Personal Space that gave him the greatest confidence.

If he did not have his Personal Space, he would likely not have chosen to stay.

After all, only by living is there hope; if one is dead, then whatever home, whatever relatives, whatever sentimental attachment, all of that is empty.

And in this magical world, the most terrifying thing is not death, but that even after death, the soul finds no rest!

As for how to choose, Xia Duo already had a scale in his heart.

……