Chapter 80 - Endings Are Chosen

While every eyes were still on him, Basil moved his feet toward the fractured ice statue that had been Kinsey. Even if the body was perfectly destroyed, the head was preserved. Basil had intentionally aimed for Kinsey's frozen body instead of his head.

When Basil picked up Kinsey's frozen head in his hand, only then were the audiences awaken from their trance. Quickly enough, they noticed two things. First, the sickening feeling they had felt earlier was gone. Second, Basil was talking to Kinsey's frozen head.

Their curiosity was once again provoked. While some of them were still trying to cope with the bewildering event, most of their attention was on Basil's every action. Basil, who was in the middle of this, behaved as if he didn't notice their eyes at all.

Surely, he had preserved the head for a reason. This was the reason.

"Now, tell me who you are."

"..."

"I know you are there. There is no use hiding."

"..."

The head kept its state — gaping mouth and wide open eyes. Not even a twitch could be detected on it. However, Basil knew the Demonic Mana hadn't left the head completely. Therefore, he smirked and stared deep into the head's eyes.

"The 7 Princes have abandoned you."

The reaction was instantaneous. The same sickening aura descended upon the world. However this time, only Basil could feel it. Despite the heavy pressure and the sickening aura, Basil still kept the same smirk.

"Very bold of you to utter such an insolent words, human!!!"

Kinsey's frozen head was still frozen. The only weird things occuring to his head were his moving eyes and mouth. The voice was also thunderous, however no one in the arena seemed to have heard it.

Looking at his surrounding, Basil said, "You have isolated us." At this, the head merely scoffed, "A mere human doubting my intelligence. Ludicrous!"

With a quirked eyebrow, Basil turned to the head, "Judging by your ability to smear people's mind, and your loud mouth, you must be... Dantalion of the Thirty Second Obelisk."

The head was so bewildered that it forgot how to react. It just stared dumbly at Basil. It wasn't until some time had past, did the head spoke. "How do you know my name? Are you one of 'those' people?"

Basil gazed at the head curiously, "What if I am?" The head kept its silent before asking, "Why are you exposing us, then?" Now, Basil could somehow grasp the identity of 'those' people. He snorted coldly, "Hmph! You have no right to dictate any of my actions. I am not your slave."

The head's eyes widened, before cackling madly. Basil frowned lightly. He felt like he had misunderstood something.

"So, you are not one of 'those' people! Ku-ku-ku, you got me there, human."

"I will not confirm it, nor will I deny it," Basil responded calmly. Gazing at the head's eyes deeply, he said, "However, let me ask you a question. If you are so sure The 7 Princes will come, when will they come?"

A low chuckle was heard from the head, before a sinister smile adorned its face. "They will come when the world is ready. They will come when we are ready. They will come to save us. They will come to cleanse the world!"

The head's tone was getting more passionate in each sentence it uttered. Basil looked at that neutrally. He was unamused. He had thought he could pull some information, that the Guide restricted for him, out of Dantalion. However, he got nothing useful instead.

Basil snorted once before saying, "Hmph! You don't even know who your Princes. Such a blind dedication toward someone who you don't even know is bewilderingly stupid."

The head snapped out of its trance and stared at Basil murderously. "I don't even know my Princes, you say? Ku-ku-ku! How dare you?! I chant their names everytime to wish their return sooner. If he were here, Prince Lu—!"

Suddenly, the head stopped speaking. Widening his eyes, he cursed at Basil, "You filthy creature! You are tricking me!"

As he had been found out, Basil clicked his tongue inwardly. He had failed at his second attempt to dig out the identity of The 7 Princes.

The head calmed down, and properly looked at Basil. With its eerie eyes, the head gazed at Basil deeply.

"You are playing with something you do not know. Most of the times, mystery better remains a mystery. You should cherish your ignorance, human. Leave it, and do not pursue this matter any further. Forget about us, Demon, and you will be free of misery."

Basil frowned his forehead. Gorgophone had said the exact same thing to him in his past life. His curiosity was provoked even more. He was extremely curious with what exactly was going on with these Demons.

Still, he knew he wouldn't get any answer out of Dantalion anymore. Sighing lightly to himself, he decided to accept his fate. He had his somewhat useful Guide. He just needed to increase his power to upgrade its function, thus enabling him to extract more information.

"Very well. I get what you are saying. 'Curiosity kills the cat,' isn't it? Worry not, for I am a Dragon."

"Insolent filthy hum—!"

The head's retort was cut as Basil firmly clasped its mouth and poured his Qi to his hand. His hand glowed, and a destructive aura instantly overwhelmed the surrounding.

"See you in the future."

Boom!

The head in Basil's hand exploded, and the sickening aura tainting the air instantly disappeared. Slowly, the rowdiness of the arena could be heard once again. People were already standing on their feet, looking at Basil in visible worry and fear.

"Basil!"

A familiar voice was heard, and Basil threw his head at the speaker. Blake had instantly appeared beside him, and he wasn't the only one. The referee, Lawson, and Iliana were also approaching him.

Quirking one of his eyebrows in wonderment, he exclaimed in curiosity, "Why are you so eager to meet me?" However, the reaction he got was violent.

"Are you alright?!"

"Basil Pacifer, do you need immediate treatment?!"

"Boy, you look fine, but how's your head?"

"Kid, what have you seen?!"

Basil looked at the four people silently. His unamused face wasn't even hidden to them. Such an unruly way to ask a question was unthinkable to come from the four people who should be experienced enough to stay calm at any given situation.

Luckily, Iliana was calm enough to realize their mistake.

"Kuhum! Everyone, we shall not overwhelm Basil with questions."

The other men exclaimed, "Oh." Before calming themselves. Still, they were looking at Basil heatedly.

"Firstly, I will ask you to clarify what actually makes you concern over my well being." Basil was straightforward. He didn't want to beat around the bush.

"So, you weren't aware of it?" Blake asked Basil in slight curiosity. He nodded and said, "Enlighten me, please." This time, Lawson stepped forward.

"Let me get this straight. You have just been bewitched, or to be exact, you have been exposed to a Dark Spell. Right after you picked that head, an overwhelming aura descended upon the arena." Quirking his eyebrow, Basil asked Lawson in wonderment, "So?"

To say Lawson was bewildered would be an understatement. After all, the kid had just asked him what was wrong! How did he suppose to answer that?! Luckily, he had Iliana to back him up.

"Black Magic is known for its corrosive effect towards the mind. We wonder whether you are feeling uncomfortable." Iliana took a good look at the unperturbed Basil. She wondered why was the boy so calm facing the entire thing.

"To classify Black Magic as being hideous and mind eroding is a stereotype. It signifies one's lack of knowledge regarding Black Magic."

"Hoh?"

Surely, she didn't expect Basil would insult everyone's knowledge regarding Black Magic. For a mere Third Circle Mage saying that thing — in front of some considerably experienced Mages with more Circles than him — was very bold.

Therefore, Iliana was intrigued.

"Mind to tell me what do you know about Black Magic, then?"

"Classify them by their source of power, not by the way they use their power."

The three men who were looking at the exchange of the two youngsters widened their eyes. Looking at Basil in utter bafflement, their curiosity over him was provoked even more.

"Kid, have you figured it out since the beginning?!"

"Basil, how did you know?!"

Blake and Lawson questioned Basil heatedly. They couldn't believe what they had heard. The practice of Black Magic had been a forbidden act for a very long time. Even to the point where talking about it was taboo amongst Mages.

Therefore, not many people knew about it. The King's decision to restrict the spreading of any info regarding Black Magic didn't help either. It was the reason why only veterans knew what Black Magic really was.

—Classify them by their source of power, not by the way they use their power.

Basil had perfectly hinted the truth behind Black Magic. Sinister Spells and bloodthirsty Mages, such as Charles and his disciples, weren't signs of one being a Dark Mage.

The foreign sinister power that flowed in someone was the indication of them being a Dark Mage, just like Basil had pointed out.

Therefore, they were curious how Basil got his hands on that information. Not even Iliana, the raising star of Randalvine Magic Institute, was aware of it.

Basil's answer to them was unexpected.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"What do you mean by yes?"

The curious men were bewildered. Basil had indeed answered the question. However, the answer couldn't even be considered as an answer!

What kind of an answer is that?!

Still, they needed to calm down, and got back to their priority. That was, surely, to ensure Basil's safety. They couldn't prod Basil too much. He wasn't a criminal after all.

"Are you alright? We are really sorry that our committee is very slow to notice the disturbance. We were too caught up in wrapping up the Group Tournament. I will give you enough compensation as an apology."

"It is unnecessary. The Mage played it good. He had this arena isolated with his Magic, that not even Mr. Blake here could notice something was wrong."

Basil didn't call Kinsey by his name. He didn't want to admit someone who was enslaved by the lowly creature called Demon.

Iliana looked at Basil in slight surprise, and the others did too. For someone overbearing, he was surprisingly modest. Not even Blake had expected him to say that. Still, Blake could understand his point. Basil had merely stated a fact.

"Huuh..."

Lawson sighed to himself. Blake was bestowed with a good diamond. Glancing at Blake in slight envy, he was reminded of Iliana. Luckily, he had also a diamond of his own. Still, it would be better if he had two of them.

"Then, I will ask you this. Will you continue to participate in the tournament? Even if you decided to end it here, the first position would still belong to you. It is your reward for defeating a Dark Mage. Although it is lacking, our institute will give you the more suitable reward after the tournament."

Such an offer was tempting. However, Basil merely shook his head.

"I will not refuse a reward. However, I will not pull myself out of the tournament. It will be unfair to the others. Besides..." Basil smiled incomprehensibly, and continued, "I get to enjoy some amusement from this."

The three elderly men smiled wryly to themselves. In contrast to them, Iliana was laughing loudly, yet graciously. "I love this Boy!" She exclaimed. Not stopping there, she hit Basil's shoulder like an old friend, while still laughing.

Basil just stood there and received the friendly hit. A strange light entered his eyes. He was extremely familiar with the touch. It was the touch he had yearned and missed for long.

When finally it came the time he could feel it once again, he was assaulted with a strong feeling of nostalgia.

He was so overwhelmed that he felt nothing.

Yes.

Nothing.

Contrary to his expectation, he felt nothing. The touch was surely familiar. However, it wasn't the same touch. It didn't bear the same feeling he had felt in his past life.

He knew it already. Everything would be different.

At that day where he had decided to return to the past, he knew he would change so many things that he might annul the relationships he had made in the past. Still, he did it.

Anything built, can be rebuilt. Relationship is such a thing, that sometimes it is too trivial to be concerned of.

Therefore, Basil was determined to keep the people he could trust by his side, and cherished them. The inexistent relationship? He would build it once again! This time, he would really take the world by storm with the people he could trust by his side to accompany him.

Then, he would give the world a middle finger.