Chapter 61: Face and Glory

The restored ancient castle was like a quiet large box.

Luge walked on tiptoe in the dim passage, descending the steps, feeling like a villain in a cliché horror story who would die miserably; he already had a strange appearance, and now he was hunched over, holding half a human face in his hand.

"Eldest Brother, if you can wake up, don't be afraid of scaring me, just open your eyes directly; your experience is vast, your knowledge broad, unlike me, this stupid little kobold, whose experience hasn't even grown as long as a tail." Luge shook the half-face in his hand, speaking softly.

Here it was even more gloomy and cold than other places in the ancient castle; the stone steps underfoot also seemed uncarved, deliberately retaining that roughness, as if stepping onto a wild, primitive road.

He listened to his own footsteps, walking step by step to the end of the road.

A rough, unimaginably crude altar appeared before his eyes.

The things constituting this altar even looked like they were scavenged from garbage: various bones, clothes, even books; the edges and corners were blackened dark red traces, and a dismantled wardrobe.

Luge pinched a tooth fragment between two fingers.

Circling around this Abyss Altar, he walked circle after circle.

The corpse that needs to be taken away? He thought.

"In here……"

The handsome youth appeared at the side, looking as if his mood was not bad.

Luge looked toward the way he came, not seeing Old Butler Izel's figure, nor hearing footsteps.

"Why is there an Abyss Altar here?"

"Oh? You mean this; I imagined being like Izel and my father, possessing supernatural abilities, going out to adventure and travel, so I secretly collected materials and hid here to make this; my Abyssal Language self-taught so fluently is also because of making this thing; I read a large amount of books; at the time I thought it was feasible; after all, theoretically I also possess some Demon Bloodline," the youth shrugged, saying, "Father and Izel actually also knew what I was doing, just letting me act willfully; after all, the entire castle is under their control."

"Moreover, I also cannot change anything; even attempting to communicate with the Great Abyss cannot save this waste of me; I was different from birth, forever weak, forever sick, forever incurable; but I am used to it all."

The handsome youth's figure flickered; a floorboard automatically flipped up.

"When I was young I also often hid inside to play; Izel would pretend not to know, letting those maids search in a panic; he knew I liked to tease them; only when it was dinner time would he come bring me back; sometimes I had already fallen into deep sleep in there."

In the hidden compartment beside the altar, a dried-up corpse was curled up; looking at the dried thing hugging its knees, it was hard to imagine it was once this handsome appearance.

Luge circled around the dried corpse twice.

He discovered that after becoming a kobold he especially loved circling to observe things.

"You…… stirred up trouble, were locked under this library, so you couldn't go participate in the lessons? Looks like you might still be a good student, not really wanting to skip class."

Luge spoke, extracting a short spear and directly lifting the dried thing before his eyes.

"Want me to burn it? Then what is inside? Or do you have some restriction from it?" He lifted the dried corpse, swinging it back, sweeping it past from his side.

The handsome youth indeed retreated far away in advance.

Luge grabbed the short spear and lifted the dried thing before his eyes again; closely observing, fine engraved lines could be seen on it, and all kinds of unrecognized characters, as if using these to dress the dried corpse in a brocade garment.

He had a few guesses in his heart, but that was not important; he, Luge, was not here to manage these; no need to laboriously figure out all parts; he directly carried the corpse on the short spear and placed it on the Abyss Altar; that altar was originally a crude, low-grade, defective product, and had been thrown here for three hundred years; it looked like it could no longer function normally.

"Guest from another realm, you need not be so nervous; I bear you no malice, merely some well-intentioned lies," the handsome youth said, "I am not an evil person; otherwise my imposing father would have killed me long ago; burn it, just as I said before, we will each get what we want; you are a Wizard; I know you Wizards circulate powerful Contract methods; I can sign that kind of thing with you to prove my sincerity."

Actually Luge also really wanted to use Contract-like methods, but unfortunately he simply did not know how.

"I don't care whether what you say is true or false; I just want to leave safely," Luge paused, "and normal people find it hard to continue believing a liar's words……"

Thoughts raced.

Since this dried corpse is the key, why not also, like that Demon Dice, follow local customs and be mischievous once.

He pretended to leave, striding toward the steps.

The handsome youth at first still stood in place, but seeing he had no intention of stopping his steps, immediately flickered to block the stone steps.

"Father locked me here merely for the Family's glory; but my hometown, that World is gone; what Family glory is still needed? Old Izel only knows to obey Father's orders; but he is already dead; he is no longer Izel……"

The handsome youth did not get angry, still speaking in that calm, composed manner.

Luge recalled that paper strip from before.

Old Butler Izel wrote on it pleading for him to rescue this young master; but at this moment, what the two said obviously contradicted; perhaps that paper strip was also forged by this young master, or half-true half-false. Of course it is also not excluded that at some moment three hundred years ago Old Butler figured it out and decided to rescue this guy.

But Luge no longer had the mood to entangle in these, to listen to words that could not be distinguished true from false, nor the ability to care about another world's matters; he was just a little kobold without even pants.

He suddenly turned, throwing the half-face onto the broken altar.

Deceiving and toying with a kobold never has a good outcome.

Everything is left to Fate to decide.

This sudden action directly interrupted the handsome youth's words; the inexplicable behavior made the other party stare blankly; simultaneously the quiet altar also made Luge fall silent. For a moment, both people quietly watched that pile of garbage.

Suddenly, space twisted.

Gray streamers rotated and tumbled in a small area on the altar.

The broken Abyss Altar seemed to have slept a three-hundred-year long sleep; in an instant it startled awake and became active.

The handsome youth floated with continuous cries of alarm, passing over Luge, pouncing to the altar's edge, yet not daring to touch the dried corpse on top, only able to circle around the crude altar.

"You! What did you throw up there! Despicable Wizard."

Seeing the altar really come alive, the young master no longer cared about anything else, pouncing toward the altar's center.

Whoosh!

A slightly old boot appeared crookedly on the altar.

(Chapter End)