CH 12

"I shouldn't have done this. I must’ve gone mad..." The red-haired young man kept muttering as he used a knife to try to pry open the lock on Evan's bit.

“Click—”

The lock turned out to be easier to open than he had expected. After all, ever since the magic had failed, the metals that should have been extremely hard had become severely corroded for some inexplicable reason. 

However, unlocking the shackle over Evan’s mouth didn't guarantee safety from accidents. Alister's hands continued to tremble. As the lock finally popped open, the knife slipped from the metal, leaving a long, narrow cut on Evan's face.

Blood welled up from the wound, and the pain jolted Evan back to reality. 

The slender apprentice mage gasped for air as if he had been rescued from drowning. With his eyes wide open, his deep pupils contrasted against irises as green as a deep pool. 

The needle-like pain the light brought to his eyes, but Evan had never been more grateful for this damned room.

"Damn it, damn it!" Alister's voice trembled with panic, sounding as though it came from a distant place. Evan gazed at him, his expression now resembling that of a frightened child.

"Thank you... very much..." Evan whispered to Alister.

Only then did he realize that his voice was as rough as sandpaper.

Alister stared at Evan in a daze, his back damp with cold sweat. Just a moment ago, as he had inadvertently grazed Evan's skin, he had seen some things.

Alister figured that he must’ve gone mad.

Hidden beneath Evan's pale complexion were abnormally vibrant hues of shocking golden-red and turquoise, intertwining in a strangely murky manner—like worms coated in mucus. On the back, he even spotted patterns that looked like human eyes.

The peculiar entities wriggled within the recesses of Evan's wounds and vanished within the blink of an eye. Only a few seconds later did the blood start to trickle slowly. 

Alister couldn't shake the feeling that it might not be blood for some inexplicable reason.

Was Evan Reeves, the young apprentice mage who had so deeply captivated him, truly just a human? Suspicion and horror welled up within Alister.

Just as Alister contemplated this, he noticed Evan lifting his hands in his direction.

"Help me... undo... this,” Evan murmured.

"No," Alister's instinctive response was a firm refusal. The current Evan evoked fear within him.

"Please, open it for me."

Evan's unwavering gaze bore into Alister's eyes as he repeated his request.

A look of hesitation and struggle appeared on Alister's face as his breathing grew increasingly rapid.

"No... no... Evan, I think there's something wrong with you. It might be... extremely serious... I can't just let you go." 

Evan heard Alister’s incoherent words. His tone was steeped in panic and confusion.

Alister's refusal triggered a sudden wave of irritation in Evan, or perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as violent rage.

For a single moment, Evan felt an intense desire to tear apart the fragile and inferior flesh-and-blood body standing before him.

A burning heat surged within him, and the scent of metal mixed with his breath, escaping from his mouth and nose.

Almost simultaneously, Evan noticed something peculiar on Alister's back.

Unbeknownst to Alister, he had instinctively retreated into the room's shadows due to fear or other reasons, causing the tentacles attached to his back to suddenly expand. The tips that were once tightly coiled into small circles unfurled, revealing rows of sharp teeth that emitted an eerie and shimmering light in the shadows.

Alister remained oblivious to the presence behind him.

He simply stood there, appearing fragile and panicked, much like a lost puppy, while an abnormal and horrifying monster loomed behind him just inches away from swallowing him whole.

"No—!"

Evan didn't know how he managed it, but he leaped up and lunged at Alister in a bizarre manner.

For a brief moment, he felt suspended in the air, gliding like some sort of magical creature. In the next instant, he collided forcefully with Alister, pinning him to the ground.

Hiss...

A hissing sound seemed to escape from the tentacles that had been eager to swallow their prey. They recoiled and clumped together like worms sprinkled with salt the moment Evan touched them and gradually weakened and disintegrated, dissipating like bubbles, leaving behind only black powder as fine as smoke.

"AHHHHH—"

Alister's response, on the other hand, was sheer terror.

He screamed frantically, shoving Evan away.

"What in the world is that?! What just happened? Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it—"

Evan noticed a glimmer on Alister's face: his tears.

"Thud... I... I'm only trying to help you."

Evan sat weakly on the ground, overwhelmed by dizziness and a throbbing headache.

The wound on his face stung, and in a haze, he felt that the tentacles would have felt a similar pain when they dissipated...

Just as he opened his mouth, trying to explain everything, a faint, friction-like sound escaped his throat, resembling a soft "thud". Evan swiftly realized this and switched to human language.

(Why use the term "switch"? You’ve always been a human. A voice deep within him raised faint doubts, which Evan instinctively brushed aside.)

"You saw it."

Evan whispered. It was a sentence and not a question.

He believed that when the tentacles were detached from their host, they must’ve allowed the host to catch a glimpse of unsettling afterimages.

This explained why Alister was clutching his back neurotically. The pitiful and haggard red-haired teen looked close to a nervous breakdown.

Of course, Evan himself wasn't faring much better, his severe headache gnawing at his nerves.

"Yeah, I damn well saw it! What in the world was that?! What's happening here?!"

Alister's persistent shouts intensified Evan's headache.

Evan gritted his teeth, struggling to catch his breath, forcing himself to regain his focus.

"This, here... is encroached by danger... your world..." he murmured to Alister.

"The projection... it's eroding... crumbling away..."

Evan was suddenly overwhelmed by intense pain.

He realized he had lost the ability to articulate his thoughts clearly.

He yearned to convey the dreadful things he perceiped to Alister, but no matter how he searched his mind for words, he couldn't adequately express his true thoughts.

The knowledge he had within his mind, or rather, the knowledge he’d absorbed from that celestial expanse, was so vast and intricate that it had long exceeded the confines of human language.

"Open it."

Evan gestured to Alister, rattling the injured chains, motioning to Alister once again.

He hoped Alister wouldn't reject him this time.

He was determined to avoid reliving the almost inhumanly violent rage and dark emotions he had previously experienced.

Thankfully, after much panting and internal struggle, Alister seemed to comprehend something.

He grabbed the knife and stumbled toward Evan.

His eyes were deep and blazed like ghostly fire. For an instant, Evan almost thought Alister intended to use that knife to kill him.

Evan's heartbeat even skipped a beat at this notion.

Yet, in the end, Alister knelt beside him, using the tip of the knife to pry open the locks on Evan's wrists and ankles.

This time, his hands remained steady.

The heavy chains were quickly loosened, clattering to the ground and freeing Evan thin and pale wrists and ankles.

It had to be said that this newfound freedom made Evan feel a rush of relief.

Then, he stood up and moved toward the door.

"What are you doing?!"

Alister's alarmed question echoed from behind him.

Evan turned to look at Alister.

"I have to... find a way... to escape... this place has already been engulfed by “His” projection... I must leave..."

He attempted to explain, but only these simple sentences left his lips in the end.

Evan opened the stone chamber’s door and walked slowly toward the outside.

Alister hesitated visibly. Evan thought he might not follow. Yet, after a moment, Evan discerned the sound of the red-haired youth's footsteps behind him.

"You’ve become strange, Evan. Very strange,” Alister murmured from behind.

Evan didn't look back.

"We’re all the same,” he responded.

In truth, Evan hadn't anticipated Alister trailing after him. He could tell that Alister was deeply unnerved by him and by the bizarre occurrences in the Mage Tower. Evan did not blame him.

Even Evan himself did not know what to do about all these occurrences.

The human part of him was on the verge of breaking down. All that supported him now was his fear of “Him”.

Evan had an unshakable intuition—that "He" longed for him to descend into the depths of insanity.

And that was exactly why Evan was fighting so fiercely to preserve the last vestiges of his sanity.

This was the only way he could prevent himself from being consumed by that abyss...

Evan recalled the sensation of his soul merging with some other entity’s in his dream, and an urge to vomit surged up before he suppressed it.

This room, which was used to lock up "mad apprentice mages", was situated deep within the mage tower, very close to the lowest level which had been sealed off by a magic array.

Evan and Alister had to ascend to higher floors if they wanted to do anything — the upper levels housed high-level mages who held the key to opening the tower's gates.

As they traversed the mage tower's silent interior, both Evan and Alister sensed clearly that something was awry.

The corridors of the mage tower exuded an eerie ambiance, starkly different from Evan's memories.

The atmosphere felt heavy and oppressive, likely due to the lack of magical particles. Dimly lit magic electric lamps and candles sporadically illuminated the dim corridor, emitting faint light.

It was disconcertingly dark.

Walking past a tall window, Evan abruptly halted. He turned to face Alister.

"We haven’t seen a single soul,” he remarked.

"We're so close to the ground floor that nobody would venture here,” Alister responded dryly, although his tone showed that even he himself did not believe in his words.

Both apprentice mages knew that it had never been this silent, even during curfew. In fact, the mage tower could never truly be quiet.

After all, it housed so many mages.

The numerous mages in the tower would perpetually conduct experiments. Caged experimental creatures would emit mournful cries. Not to mention, the tower itself was an amalgamation of magic, lifeforms, magical equipment, and stone.

Even if the mages were at rest, the mechanisms would inevitably generate sounds during their operation.

These myriad minor sounds combined to form an unceasing soundscape within the mage tower, akin to the sound of human breathing—barely noticeable, yet ever-present.

However, at this moment, Evan and Alister were enveloped in an eerie quietness.

The mage tower seemed... lifeless.

Despite this, Evan and Alister had no intention of probing further. This was more likely than not a self-defense mechanism to prevent their mental collapse.

Following a brief exchange, they continued down the silent corridor.

Unsurprisingly, the various magical arrays that led them to the upper floors had all malfunctioned. Mithril inlays on magnificent lapis lazuli slabs had dulled to the color of lead, and the slabs themselves bore visible cracks.

Evan and Alister had no choice but to search for a stone staircase that ascended to higher floors amidst the intricate maze of corridors and chambers within the mage tower. The dwarf craftsmen who constructed the tower had made this for themselves, for dwarves could neither sense magical particles nor make use of magical arrays.

And that thing, or rather, that creature, revealed itself when they pushed open the door to a certain mage's laboratory.

Alister was the one who opened the door—although, had it been Evan, he might have sensed the presence beforehand.

However, at that moment, Evan stood under a tall window, his gaze locked on the dark sky outside, his brows furrowed in thought.

Unease coursed through him due to the seemingly endless expanse of darkness, causing him to completely miss the faint scent of decaying flesh and moisture in the air.

"Hiss——"

The soft hiss intertwined with the creak of the door, and the entity lunged forth like a specter.

"Alister!"

Evan immediately sensed the problem and shouted in warning, only to see a blue-white blur pounce onto the red-haired apprentice.

"What the hell?!" Alister cursed.

He extended his arm and Evan watched him form a hand sign—but it was a sign used to cast magic!

Alister's natural instincts as a mage almost led him to his demise. Under ordinary circumstances, making a magic hand sign would allow him to cast potent spells like "corrosion" or "fireball." Yet now, all his hand sign resulted in was the ghostly creature opening its maws wide.

Evan sprinted towards Alister, surprised at how fast he could run.

He moved like a gust of wind or a fleeting shadow. If he had the time, Evan would have marveled at his physical state.

In that instant, his form blurred, elongating abruptly. In the next, he materialized beside the accursed being.

Within this magic-devoid realm, Evan's appeared even more like a magical entity than before.

However, at this moment, neither Evan nor Alister took note of the mystifying sight — Alister had already sustained a substantial bite on his arm. He fought desperately to shake off the creature, but its size was nothing to scoff at — it was almost twice Alister's size, with a humongous, sticky body, resembling a deformed worm.

An array of cream-colored appendages extended from the creature's sides, coiling around Alister's body in a death grip.

However, the moment Evan arrived, the creature seemed to have been frightened. It relinquished its grip on Alister and recoiled against the wall, its insect-like appendages burrowing into gaps between the bricks.

Had Evan not noticed the fallen knife, the creature could have easily scaled the wall and adhered to the ceiling.

However, Evan was just one step faster. He seized the small knife (previously used to pry open the keyhole) and plunged the sharp blade into the creature's back, just below its neck.

"Splurt..."

The sensation resembled thrusting a dagger into a cow's stomach filled with warm water. Foul-smelling translucent mucus gushed from the creature's wound.

Its insectoid appendages flailed wildly, scratching the stone walls, sending tiny specks of stone and dust raining onto the ground. Its tail thrashed desperately against the floor.

Though this sight might have horrified others, Evan was strangely certain that the he had targeted would incapacitate the creature, preventing it from escaping.

As the creature's struggles weakened, Evan withdrew the knife and swiftly retreated, pulling Alister with him.

Viscera with flecks of unfamiliar gray-brown and khaki-yellow substances slipped out together with mucus from the wound Evan had inflicted. Their collective weight tore the wound even wider, almost ripping the creature open from neck to back.

Only after the internal organs had all slipped out, hanging onto the creature’s tail, did its appendages, which were embedded in the wall, snap one after another, causing the creature’s lifeless remains to slide onto the ground with a wet thump.

The long corridor once again sunk into silence.

Perhaps due to the creature's death throes, a magic electric lamp had reactivated. Emitting a faint beep, the lamps flanking the door to the mage laboratory gradually brightened with a soft hum.

Under the ill-timed illumination, Evan and Alister were finally able to appraise the creature's true form.

It was a being so grotesque that it defied description.

It looked like a monitor lizard that had been immersed in a potion for so long that it had bloated and rotted away. It possessed a sleek body and disproportionately thin limbs. Insect-like appendages protruded from its sides between its upper and lower limbs, grotesque in their form.

This was definitely no normal creature, nor did it remotely resemble a magically fused creation.

After all, even black magicians with the lowest of standards would not create something possessing skin so nauseatingly greenish-white. It was so bloated that it was almost translucent, and one could clearly see the murky mucus within its body. You could even catch a glimpse of its internal organs and facial features.

To further complicate matters, the creature had a human’s face.

To be more precise, it was a former human’s face.

Alister unleashed a string of expletives, rubbing his face. The pain from the wound on his hand caused him to take a sharp inhale.

Upon discovering the creature’s human visage, Alister's demeanor took a precarious turn.

"What the hell is this?!"

His voice wavered between a scream and a whimper.

"I have no clue,” Evan faintly responded.

Compared to Alister, who was close to a breakdown, Evan was in a more trance-like state.

Initially, Evan suspected it might be Mage Doug, recalling the latter’s bizarre and inexplicable form slipping into the sewers. His odor was similar to that of the monster before them.

However, subsequent discoveries by Alister dispelled this theory.

"Oh, my %￥#@..."

Alister devolved into a series of slurred, rapid expletives, teetering on the brink of madness.

"I know him, oh my God, my God—this is Mage Miriam!"