The castle fell. The anti-magic crystal lost its effectiveness, and large chunks of debris rained from the sky.
Eugene immediately slowed the falling debris, finally creating a way out for the three trapped at the bottom of the stone platform. The moment they escaped the terrifying chasm, Knight Marion immediately knelt on one knee to thank the Goddess, while Damori sat down on the ground, gasping like a depleted dog.
Eugene stood on the edge of the cliff, so close to the chasm that half a step further would cause him to lose his balance. Explosions continued within the chasm, with corruption smoke furiously erupting, passing over his pale golden protective shield.
"Captain!" Marion called out to him.
"The castle wouldn't collapse on its own, knight." Amidst the roaring wind, Eugene stood firm. "You take Mr. Damori back first and report the situation. I will witness this to the end."
"But—" The explosion and wind scattered the knight's shouts.
At the edge of the cliff, Eugene turned back, giving her a warm smile. "God wants us to witness."
The nearby corruption was thick, and the soil was already showing the color of rotten blood. Marion tried to support Damori, who could barely stand up.
Damori looked at Eugene with a complicated gaze, coughing hard. "Um, earlier… I said many disrespectful things. I didn't expect…"
"The Captain won't mind," Marion whispered softly.
"No, it's my insincerity towards God." Damori hung his head. "I was favored by the Goddess to witness all this. I-I want to stay, as a sign of repentance."
Marion looked helplessly at Eugene, who didn't turn back but nodded.
"God will see your faithfulness," Eugene declared loudly.
Damori then relaxed, continuing to sit collapsed on the grass. An ominous tremor came from deep within the ground. The night grew deep, and the castle crumbled layer by layer before his eyes, leaving only vague silhouettes.
At this distance, they couldn't see clearly—on one of the particularly large silhouettes, something was moving.
In the blood pool, half a body propped itself up, struggling to regain "combat power".
High Priest Fischer's wound ignited with blue fire, the two halves of his body self-adhering. The blood on the ground slowly flowed back into his body through the wound.
"May everything be eternal."
Fischer sighed faintly.
As a Supplement Demon, he wasn't a complete undead creature. Having obtained the "immortality" trait from an undead monster, it could only take effect once.
"Such unilateral decision-making, worthy of being the Chosen One by our God."
He leaned towards the abyss, drawing a circle on his chest. "For true eternity, I must bring you…"
He suddenly became dazed in the middle of speaking. "I must bring you… bring you…"
Fischer covered his face, his eyes trembling amidst the blue flames through his fingers. A bizarre sense of chaos rampaged through his mind, as if cursed.
His pupils trembled, weakly kneeling back to the ground.
Speaking of which, among the high priests of the Eternal Church, Fischer Reginald was quite unique.
If Teest had heard his title rather than his real name, he would never have asked such a question as "How are you sure it's me?"
This man successfully merged many monsters, but his specialty wasn't in combat but in strange auxiliary skills. Among them, his most famous and bizarre ability became his title—
[Eye of the Storm]
Whenever Fischer decided to participate in something, he always got involved in the whirlpool of fate with this ability.
After getting involved, "Eye of the Storm" couldn't affect the event itself. But it always allowed him to be lucky enough to get into the core of the event, knowing the entire development and changes.
The importance of information was no less than combat ability, and magic related to fate was rare.
In the past decades, High Priest Fischer never doubted divine grace—the Eternal Son favored him, allowing him to have this almost miraculous talent.
But as a fanatical believer, he now undoubtedly wavered in his faith.
…To follow that Chosen One, to follow the Mad Monk.
…This is the meaning of your return from death. This is your destiny.
Fischer hugged his head, his stiff wings spreading, shakily flying in the air.
God, what the hell is going on?!
...
At the same time, at the bottom of the chasm.
"Hmm?" Teest hummed in confusion, stopping what he was doing.
"What's wrong?" Nol immediately turned around.
Not long ago, after the shock, Nol's first decision was very decisive—to completely seal off this deadly chasm. Regardless of the nature of this world, the "mass emergence of corruption" was a sign of destruction and couldn't be allowed to persist. As for post-event research, he could rely on Kando to travel directly.
He had the Lost Tower behind him and companions to unravel the mystery together. Nol remembered everything he saw underground and had Teest pack up Zhang Shuhang's research materials, preparing to relocate the research base to Paradise.
…However, legitimately sealing the chasm meant that "Drake" had to appear again.
After packing up the spoils of war, the two dragged tables and chairs out of the ruins and crafted a new image on the spot.
Nol's burnt hair was cut off by Teest, who then smeared hair dye on Nol's head again. Without the long hair to cover him, Nol felt somewhat exposed. Teest tore up several linen shirts, resolutely creating a set of battle-worn attire to cover the important parts.
By now, Nol finally noticed the crisscrossing crown-shaped dragon horns on his head and the huge dragon wings on his back that he couldn't retract. The roots of the dragon horns were black, with tips resembling blue gems, and ghostly sparks splattered on them. The dragon wings were also magnificent, their dragon scales captivating.
…Beautiful indeed, but irretractable!
Thus, the scene just now unfolded—Nol himself blushed with embarrassment. Teest, meanwhile, was squeezing and pressing around, then suddenly stopped like a bolt from the blue.
"There seems to be a problem with my skills," Teest said, summoning the system window.
Nol let go of his horns and leaned in to take a look.
Teest's [Necrotic Dominion] was activating, with the number of subordinates shockingly showing "1".
"I killed that Fischer, the High Priest of the Eternal Church," Teest explained with a frown. "At that time, I was focused on… well, finding you, and didn't notice the system prompt."
Was the High Priest of the Eternal Church so easy to kill?
Nol was puzzled for two seconds. But given Teest's current strength, a rare combat class ambushing at close range, it barely made sense.
"It's possible he automatically transformed into an undead and then was counted as your subordinate by the system," Nol explained. "Your [Necrotic Conversion (Short-Term)] lasts up to half an hour, after which it will automatically be lifted."
"We've been down here for almost two hours."
Nol: "..."
"Is this skill really okay?" Teest breathed into Nol's ear.
"Are you sure he was dead at that time?" Questioned about his design, Nol's creator's pride swiftly returned.
Challenged on his killing method, the Mad Monk's murderous pride quickly joined in.
Teest stepped back half a step, vividly recounting the situation, almost like finding something to chop.
"…Split in two like a salted fish, one half even fell to the ground." Teest gestured with both hands. "Even if he's a Supplement Demon, being cut like that would cause instant death."
"If he has undead monster traits, he might not die." Nol stroked his horns. "Many low-level undead have 'regeneration' or 'undying' type skills, needing to be killed twice."
"But undead monsters don't have a 'death' concept. Once you kill them, they disintegrate on the spot, making [Necrotic Conversion] and [Necrotic Dominion] ineffective."
As a competent creator, he certainly considered extreme cases. Nol added seriously.
"But Supplement Demons aren't real 'undead monsters'." Teest pondered.
"..."
"If he was alive just now, really died, then revived using the traits of the undead within him, does it count as whether I killed him or not?" Teest brutally pointed out. "Under this premise, can [Necrotic Dominion] really take effect?"
"..."
Schrodinger's High Priest, huh? Nol's face slowly turned pale.
If he ever got the chance, he'd definitely hang up the instigator, the Eternal Son, and beat him—Supplement Demons were too chaotic, and his skill logic had another bug!
Both fell into silence, staring at the "1" on Teest's panel. As time ticked by, the simple number remained unchanged.
"Purely by design, [Necrotic Dominion] has no expiration time." Nol spoke painfully. "If, and I mean if, Fischer's condition caused a glitch in [Necrotic Conversion (Short-Term)], he will always be under your command, until death."
Teest solemnly closed the skill window, pondering for two seconds.
"Fischer Reginald." He theatrically ordered into the void. "Bring out the list of 'Paradise Monsters' from your subordinates and hand it over to the 'General' of Grape Collar."
"Then find a cave in the Black Forest for secluded cultivation—no leaving without orders."
After speaking, he paused to feel the effect for half a second.
"…Really feels like I'm in control." Teest exclaimed. "Fischer Reginald, hop on one foot all the way back. See you later!"
After saying that, he circled back to Nol, his face full of excitement. "Even the errors in your world are amazing!"
Nol had nothing to say, so he just seriously twisted his wings.
Teest took the opportunity to lean down and kiss the soft wing membrane not covered with scales. The touch of the soft membrane and lips was too strange; he couldn't help but gently lick it with his tongue.
Nol shivered from head to toe, and with a whoosh, the kissed half of his wing disappeared into the void.
Silence fell again.
"Oh." A few seconds later, Teest's fingertips ran through Nol's hair, all the way to the back of his neck. "I heard that arranging the appearance of a god is also the job of the Pope."
With a smile, he leaned forward again, lightly biting the other wing.
...
The sun was about to rise, and the darkness became thin.
A few hours earlier, the explosions at the bottom of the chasm had stopped. The castle that was once floating in the air had completely disappeared, and the corruption had calmed down significantly compared to before. Eugene could even withdraw the magical protection and directly feel the morning breeze.
He stared intently at the chasm, dew forming finely on his eyebrows.
In Damori's view, everything probably ended. Perhaps the Great Drake and The Lord of The Manor fought to their mutual destruction. But Eugene's gaze was so certain that, to avoid being contradicted, Damori tried his best to remain silent.
Just before sunrise, in the center of the chasm.
A beam of white light shot up into the sky, shattering the dim shadows before dawn—
Nol, with Teest hidden under the guise of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", burst out of the chasm in one go. His hair returned to a pale gold, and his golden pupils twinkled faintly.
His knight's armor was almost gone, leaving only bloodstained linen fabric, barely covering the key parts. Large patches of pale skin were exposed, shimmering with the unique light patterns of dragon scales.
The unconscious Dia Blanco was carried on his back, arms dangling limply. In Nol's shadow, the shadow wolf happily dove in, its tail tip flashing briefly.
Through layers of smoke, Knight Eugene looked up, meeting "Drake's" gaze.
"Drake" had an expressionless face, just weary.
Their eyes met, and Drake immediately withdrew his gaze. Carrying the unconscious knight on his back, he hovered in mid-air, extending a broken sword towards the dark chasm.
The tranquility that enveloped the area completely disappeared.
The earth trembled continuously, and the rocks made sharp compressive noises.
In the depths of the chasm, in a corner Eugene couldn't see, countless bone hands stretched out from both sides of the chasm. They grasped each other, hand to hand, until the hands from both sides successfully interlocked.
Countless "bone-hand ropes" tensed and retracted into the soil. The sides of the chasm shook violently, and the huge chasm, like a deep wound, was slowly stitched together.
In mid-air, Nol hid the freshly revived "The Complete Recipe Book" behind him. He and Teest joined hands, activating a purification magic together.
During the closing process, the escaping corruption smoke instantly ignited into brilliant golden flames, illuminating the morning as if it were day.
The corruption on the ground quickly dissipated in the flames, and the previously murky air became crystal clear. The black and red in the soil slowly faded away, leaving only brown earth.
The morning sun rose from the land, burning with golden fire. The moment the chasm closed, bright light completely struck the earth.
So that's how it is.
Eugene stretched out a hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling light.
Was this what Lady Tilia wanted him to see? The birth of a hero, or perhaps…
Regardless, he would remember this moment.
Not far away, Damori's eyes were wide open, greedily taking in everything.
...
"Thank you very much!"
Old Dill bowed deeply to Nol, who was sitting on the bed. "These past few days, Mr. Eugene has been spreading your story. Without you, Lord Dia would surely have died at the hands of The Manor. You helped us expel The Manor and the White Night. You are a hero of Eternal Day City—the king demands a celebration. Everyone is eager to meet you."
Just kill me already. Nol decisively refused. "No need."
At this moment, Nol only wanted to be with Teest.
He had put on a perfect heroic performance in front of Eugene and then, according to the script—of course, also to accommodate his own physical condition—dramatically fainted.
Just thinking about it was exhausting. Recently, he had been through countless ups and downs. In the end, he even had to hang in midair, twisting his body into a cool pose.
Teest wasn't in much better condition.
Considering that Nol had to pretend to be a magic swordsman, Teest had to help hold the Staff of Sacrifice and "The Complete Recipe Book". He also had to ensure that Nol's free fall was aesthetically pleasing, not face-down, and not breaking Mr. Dia Blanco's neck—this was the first time he used the golden thread to save someone's life, and his feelings were complex.
The two were busy and somehow managed to wrap up this act.
What followed was simple.
According to Teest, the awakened Mr. Blanco was grateful and insisted on taking Nol to the Blanco family's estate for recuperation. The house wasn't far from the church, and the conditions were indeed better. Eugene agreed readily.
As it turned out, Knight Eugene was quite foresighted. As soon as the news of "Eternal Day City's White Night source disappearing" spread, people flocked to the Evergreen Church, trying to find the hero.
Even at this distance, Nol could hear the cheers from the church.
"I just want some quiet time. I don't want to see anyone." Nol—"Drake" expressed coldly. "Mr. Blanco is an excellent knight. His survival is due to his own efforts."
A normal person would have had their intelligence halved by Teest's repeated slaps, but luckily Mr. Blanco had a tough enough head.
"The Blanco family will never neglect a benefactor. I will ensure everyone stays quiet. Now that you're awake, would you like some lunch?"
"We've prepared roast pigeon, braised beef, egg custard, and mixed fruit sweet porridge, as well as herbal tea with honey."
Old Dill's words were sincere, and his attitude had improved significantly since their first meeting. He seemed genuinely fond of Knight Dia.
Dia Blanco was about the same age as Teest. Nol wondered if Teest had received such affection as a child.
Nol's hand shifted, pressing down on Teest's hair—Teest, taking advantage of the protection of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", was shamelessly sleeping beside Nol.
"Two servings of each dish, please. Thank you." Nol nodded. "I'd like to eat in the room."
"Of course, of course."
Old Dill bowed deeply again. "By the way, we have a request…"
"Please speak."
"After you finish your meal, we hope you can leave a portrait," Old Dill said. "The Blanco family's painter is in the city, and his skill is unparalleled. Half an hour is enough."
"The Blanco ancestors were Wilders, and they still believe that 'the portrait of a benefactor can ward off misfortune'. We will prepare additional compensation if it's convenient for you—"
According to "Drake's" character setting, agreeing or not would both make sense. Nol was about to refuse when Teest, beside him, turned over and lazily stretched.
"No problem," Nol said. "But I have two conditions…"
After a pleasant breakfast in bed, Teest's eyes widened in surprise.
[…What's the meaning of this?]
[From now on, you are the magical illusion of my deceased lover.] Nol tied Teest's hair while speaking. [They want a portrait, and I requested one of the two of us.]
[Honey, I'm really touched.] Teest touched the freshly braided long hair hanging on one side. [But why did you agree to him?]
["Hero Drake" is a creation of both of us.]
And he liked such a memento.
[We might get recognized by Eugene.]
[I also requested that the portrait not be shown after it's done because "Drake" hates ostentation.] Nol withdrew his hand. [And your appearance right now is just perfect, "Mr. Landus".]
Teest resumed his appearance as "Brother Landus", with long black hair and eyes the same blue as Nol's.
Until they sat for the portrait, Teest maintained a serious contemplative expression. The painter settled in front of them, stunned for a moment, before picking up his brush.
He had never had such perfect models.
The handsome Drake sat in a high-backed chair, and his lover's illusion stood beside the chair, an arm draped over it. The two gazed at each other as if the rest of the world didn't exist.
Sunlight streamed through the arched windows, encircling them in a hazy glow, the scene reminiscent of exquisite murals in a cathedral.
[The quest isn't yet completed.] Teest leaned against the chair, communicating telepathically. [There are no prompts now. Probably need to wait for the king to officially announce the news… Haa, we still have to deal with Eugene and the king later.]
[So relax for now,] Nol said. [There's much to do ahead.]
Teest was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but speak again. [So that's it?]
[Hm?]
[Our relationship now,] Teest said. [And the second reward you promised me, have you forgotten?]
Nol smiled at him. [Of course not.]
At that moment, the painter decisively pressed down his brush, and the paint spread across the paper like a living thing.
Outside the window, celebratory cannons roared non-stop, and cheers were overwhelming. A few meters away, Eugene stood with his sword, quietly watching the Blanco family's mansion.
Further away, Damori squeezed through the boiling crowd and dived into an alley.
"The investigation is complete. I will submit the incident report within three days."
He gasped for breath as he activated the communication crystal. "This investigation was too dangerous. You need to pay more, Mr. Enbillick."
The author has something to say:
We've got the wedding photo√
Kinky Thoughts:
End of the arc.