CH 219

Mephisto's eyes turned deep, and she asked softly, "Have you guessed?"

Rode smiled and said, "Guessed."

"When did you figure it out?"

"Uh, yesterday, when I heard that the ashes of the magic dragon can be used to make black fire essence."

Mephisto asked softly, "Just because of this sentence?"

"No, I had doubts before, but I didn't think in that direction."

"But when Atos said that the ashes of the magic dragon could be used to make black fire essence, I suddenly remembered the last time we were on a mission together, and you asked the foreman for a puppet stone."

"Later, I checked, and the main use of the puppet stone is to make puppet wood, and at that time, it was exactly when I bought puppet wood from the medicine woman."

Rode laughed happily.

"And this time, it was also when I bought black fire essence from the medicine woman. If coincidences happen consecutively, there must be something hidden behind it."

"And, the medicine woman's attitude was really strange, it really doesn't make people think of anything."

Mephisto fell silent.

Rode reached out again and said with a smile, "I said before that I hope you can become my companion because your characteristics are very suitable for me."

"Do you know? I am about to become the King's Hand, taking office in Fuxing Town, igniting the fire of human civilization in the dark world, and opening up new living space for humans. I value your abilities, so I invited you to join my team."

"As for getting into bed and all that, that's not the point. Your concept of men is too extreme. Not everyone is a lecher, not everyone's mind is filled with thoughts like that all day long. And someone like me, handsome and elegant, with noble and cold qualities, is even more so."

Mephisto fell silent for a long time before saying, "You can use your spiritual vision to see that this is not a disguise. I did not deceive you with illusions."

Rode opened his spiritual vision.

In the sight of the soul's eye, her soul was hazy, like countless restless strings, very strange. Dozens of white silver rings were wrapped around her spiritual body like collars, and several huge scars ran through her soul from top to bottom.

But there was indeed no trace of disguise.

Rode curiously asked, "What's going on here?"

"Dry decay curse. It has turned my body, inside and out, into this appearance."

"Can the curse be lifted?"

Mephisto answered softly, "No, like the ominous curse that brings misfortune, the dry decay curse, and eleven other curses, exist only to bind me."

"I can only suppress them, not remove them, but the imprints of the curses on my soul are getting deeper and deeper. I will eventually be devoured by them and become a complete monster."

She opened her hands, showing her withered and twisted body.

"Just like this."

But Rode was not afraid. Instead, he took a step forward, opened his arms, and hugged her, saying softly, "Please believe me. I am willing to do everything possible to help you. I will respect your choices, treat you fairly, and see you as a partner, not a tool."

The body in his arms was cold and stiff, like a piece of dead wood.

Time passed in silence, and after a while, a cold light rose on her, Mephisto put back the necklace and returned to her original appearance.

"Okay, I agree."

"Great, I knew you would agree."

"But I have a few requests... Can you let go of me first? And can you not touch me down there?"

"Sorry, sorry, I'm afraid that some parts of you haven't changed back..."

Mephisto looked at him speechlessly as he withdrew his hand with a silly smile, suddenly regretting agreeing.

But, if he was an experienced hunter, he wouldn't have acted so childish.

This was more like a sincere and spontaneous reaction.

"I knew it."

Mephisto sighed lightly and continued.

"I am a taboo, belonging to the Silver Oath Supervision and Detention Department, under the Forbidden Armed Forces. My authority is very high, and I don't know if you can do this with your position and duties."

Rode smiled, "Don't worry, as long as I pass the combat rating, I can become the King's Hand."

Mephisto looked at him and said, "The King's Hand is just a rank. Its actual power depends on its specific position. I am one of the strongest taboos, and you must obtain permission from the First Defense Minister."

"No problem."

Rode readily agreed, not surprised by the words "the strongest."

Mephisto's ability to freeze was excessively strong, and she could freeze even the powerful Corrupting Dragons so that they couldn't move.

And in the battle to recapture Laisu City, the royal city actually only sent her alone to reinforce.

This indirectly proved that Mephisto's strength was far beyond what she had shown.

It was for this reason that Rode had persistently invited her to join.

"I am entrusted by the King, with the mission of reigniting the fire of civilization and restoring human glory. I am also very familiar with Grand Lin. This is a small matter, I can handle it with just a word."

Mephisto looked at him with a skeptical look, and Rode, with a confident smile, showed a slow and steady demeanor.

After a moment of silence, Mephisto continued, "I do not participate in the distribution of spoils, rewards, and resources generated by the development, but the items I request should be given priority."

Rode didn't quite understand the process, but that didn't stop him from agreeing right away.

"Okay."

"Finally, my salary is very high. You have to give me a weekly salary of 8000 silver coins."

"Okay... what?"

Rode almost bit his tongue.

His current weekly salary was only 600, although he didn't rely on a fixed salary to live, but this was too high, wasn't it?

My total income is not even as high as yours.

"Why... do you need so much money?"

Mephisto looked at him calmly and said softly, "My family needs money. This is the minimum price. If you don't have it, please forgive me for not being able to agree."

Rode hesitated for a few seconds and said dejectedly, "Okay... I agree, but I also have a request.""Speak."

"From now on, in any situation, whenever you need to address me, you have to call me Big Brother Rode."

Mephisto looked at him expressionlessly.

Rode also looked at her very firmly.

Silence passed between the two.

Just as Rode was hesitating whether to give up, he heard her answer.

"Okay."

Rode immediately smiled with joy, "Say it and let me hear."

Mephisto tightly closed her lips, showing no intention of speaking, and a warning chill emanated from her silver eyes.

To read the uncut version, go to [pawread.com].

"Okay, okay, forget it, forget it."

Rode raised his hands in surrender.

"So now we are partners, and partners cannot charge for making items."

Mephisto said coldly, "You have to pay for the materials, and also, I won't refund the money from the day before yesterday."

"That's a bit unreasonable."

Rode said unhappily, "You concealed your identity and deceived me, making me say so many embarrassing things. How about compensating me for mental damages?"

Mephisto said expressionlessly, "I didn't conceal my identity."

"Then why didn't you tell me you were Mephisto?"

"You didn't ask."

"Ha!"

Mephisto stepped back with disdain.

Rode glared at her, "I gave you a thousand silver coins the day before yesterday to say something nice about me in front of you. Did you say it?"

"I said it."

"When did you say it?"

"Right now."

Mephisto said to herself, "Rode is a good person."

Damn!

Rode covered his face. He had inexplicably received a "good person" card and suffered a loss.

"What about Big Brother?"

Mephisto tightly closed her lips, showing no intention of speaking.

"Alright."

Rode sighed.

"Mephisto, we are partners now. Can you tell me why you were treated that way? And why are you bound by the Silver Oath? "

Mephisto's expression became cold, but there was a hint of darkness in her eyes.

"Do you know about the White Tower?"

Rode nodded.

The White Tower is an organization that predicts disasters, observes celestial phenomena, and formulates calendars.

"The great prophet of the White Tower, Yinyeta, has a rare and strong prophetic ability. His spirit is connected to the spirit world, and his perception is unparalleled. He can receive revelations of the future from the void."

"His prophecies have never been wrong, and the royal city has thus avoided many disasters."

"On a certain Sun Festival, when the sun in the sky was suddenly covered by shadows and turned into a black sun, with only a burning golden ring left, Yinyeta's inspiration was triggered, and he made an unprecedentedly clear prophecy."

"I am the child of destruction, and I will destroy the royal city, extinguish the sacred fire, and end this world."

A chill spread from behind Rode, making him shudder.

Mephisto remained expressionless, as if she was talking about someone else.

"Yinyeta's previous prophecies were always vague and uncertain, but this prophecy was too clear and highly unusual. After the black sun ended, Yinyeta denied making this prophecy, believing it was an illusion caused by drinking too much."

"There were some internal disagreements in the royal city, but many people demanded my direct execution to prevent future trouble."

"Only the king firmly opposed it. He said that unless there was direct evidence proving that I posed an uncontrollable danger, an innocent person should not be killed. If people could be killed with ambiguous words, then the royal city would no longer be a human home, but a city of terror."

"Yinyeta believed that the souls of the followers should be thoroughly examined to rule out whether they were influenced by unknown forces."

"But one of the followers died in a suspicious accident, and this matter became completely unresolved."

Rode asked, "What happened after that?"

Mephisto said softly, "I was initially under close surveillance, but after a long time without any abnormalities, the vigilance gradually relaxed. Some people thought that this might be a conspiracy by the Doomsday Sect to create a panic atmosphere."

"Until I underwent the Trial of Fire."

"I am a Spirit Fire Sequence, and I should only have one soul attribute, but I have three."

"Ice, mental interference, and the soul of darkness."

"All of them are forbidden soul attributes."

"This has never happened in history, so the voices calling for my execution resurfaced."

"But the king still opposed it. He believed that this did not prove the prophecy was true. There have been precedents for having three attributes."

"His final fate was just to go crazy and become a mad, uncontrollable corpse, and he is still bound by the Silver Oath."

"Based on this precedent, I can become a Taboo, and as long as I am bound by the Silver Oath, the power of the monster can also be used by humans."

"But they underestimated my abilities."

Mephisto's eyes darkened, skipping over a large part of the content, clearly unwilling to mention it again.

"I caused a great disaster, killing many, many people. A large part of them were very friendly to me, speaking for me, and treating me as family, friends, and partners."

"But they all died, and the closer they were to me, the more tragic their deaths."

"At the king's command, Yinyeta summoned all the souls and curse masters, and placed thirteen soul curses on me to seal my other two dangerous attributes and bind the ice attribute to reduce the possibility of psychic energy loss."

"As long as the Silver Oath activates the curses in turn, I can maintain a normal human state."

"But this is not without side effects. The curses will continue to erode my soul, eventually turning me into an unknown monster."

"This date is not too far away."

"This is my fate."

Mephisto looked at Rode, and her silver eyes shimmered in the dim light.

She said softly, "So, I don't have much long-term value, and the side effects of the curses may bring danger to you. If you regret it now, there's still time."

But Rode just held her hand and smiled.

"Sorry, I never believe in a predetermined fate.""Entrust your future to me, and I will shatter your shackles, forging anew the path of destiny with my own hands."

"This world is ultimately ours. I want this fire to illuminate the earth, I want this fog to dissipate like smoke, I want all monsters turned to ash, I want humanity to walk with their heads held high between heaven and earth, I want to see the smile on every person's face."

"Including yours."

Silence lingered for a long time.

Until Mephisto spoke up.

"Stop touching that."