Chapter 12.1 – Root of Evil
The elder personally saw Su out of Dark Red Castle. Regardless of whether it was the long and deep corridor or the main hall that was spacious enough to leave one terrified, whenever the elder walked past, the lights would die out one after another. It was to the extent where the faint red radiance seeping out from the walls and floors also completely disappeared. The elder was like a boundary; the world in front of him was brilliant and splendid, while what laid behind him was a deathly darkness. In addition, the light in front of him couldn’t seep through this formless boundary either, unable to illuminate the world behind the elder.
Su immediately noticed the abnormality, but even after searching his entire memory, he couldn’t find any abilities that could produce this type of result. As the two walked, darkness followed behind. When they left Dark Red Castle, the entire castle already sank into pure darkness.
Peperus had been waiting outside of the entrance the entire time. Heavy rain was pouring outside the castle, and she had already been completely drenched. Even though she had a sturdy body, exposing herself to this rain that was freezing and full of radiation still made her face a bit deathly pale. The tall walls could block a portion of the rain, but Peperus did not stand in the area in front of the castle’s entrance where no rain fell upon, instead choosing to persevere within the rain, even if her body was already shuddering a bit uncontrollably.
As soon as Su walked out, the two great doors whose weight he could not assess slowly closed behind him, isolating the elder and all of the darkness within the castle.
“Let’s go back.” Peperus swung her head of hair that was full of droplets before turning around towards the pier ahead.
It was quite the downpour. After standing in the rain for just a bit, his entire body was already drenched. However, the coldness and radiation didn’t prove much of a threat to him. After some slight changes to his body’s structure, he produced a layer of high efficiency insulating layer on the surface of his body to maintain his body’s temperature. The cold rain that was around zero degrees was definitely no threat to him. Meanwhile, the radiation, even if it was stronger radiation, didn’t seem that effective against Su. Apart from being unable to touch nuclear material, radiation in the wilderness didn’t affect Su at all. Peperus didn’t fear that cold either, but she had to concentrate most of her strength on dealing with the radiation in this damn rain.
The two of them proceeded through the rain just like that, one in front of the other, towards the pier. They didn’t have umbrellas, nor did they have any raincoats. There was nothing that could help them avoid the rain. When they only walked out halfway, Peperus’ body was already starting to stagger. She suddenly turned around and silently looked at Su behind her and said, “You can choose not to be soaked in the rain.”
Su only released an en in agreement, not saying anything.
“I made a mistake, being rained on is my method of punishment, an extremely generous punishment.” Peperus spoke without any expression. Even though he didn’t know what kind of mistake she made, since she didn’t say why, Su didn’t ask either. After speaking a few sentences, Peperus’ mood seemed to have improved a bit, walking towards the pier with large strides.
Su followed behind her. Suddenly, he asked, “Who is that elder? I have never asked about his name.”
“Peperus turned around and gave Su a rather strange look. After a bit of hesitation, she said, “Dyke Avidar, retired ten years ago. From then on, he resided in Dark Red Castle.”
She paused for a moment, and then she continued, “… before his retirement, he had another nickname, Spreader of darkness.”
Su released a simple sound of understanding and then became silent. He followed Peperus onto the speedboat, and then they proceed towards the ends of the darkness.
After Su left, the elder walked alone into the depths of the castle. Once the two doors closed, Dark Red Castle immediately became a world of absolute darkness without a trace of light. However, in the darkness, the elder seemed to be able to see everything as he moved through the corridors. Then, he continuously passed through heavy and locked doors one after another before finally arriving in a spacious area. This was a place full of darkness and it gave off an indescribable feeling.
A faintly discernible, gentle, yet powerful voice sounded within this place. “What is your impression of that little fellow?”
“Quite excellent, Your Majesty, and full of potential. His potential… if I had to describe it, then it would be perfect.” The elder’s tone sounded as if he was chatting with an old friend.
The Spider Empress that was hiding in the darkness muttered to herself for a bit before saying, “If that’s the case, a million might not be enough…”
“A million isn’t enough, but it is already enough to force out his potential. Even if it is just one portion, it should still allow him to break through the critical point.” The elder appeared extremely calm and composed.
“I hope he can pass the first test.”
The elder smiled and said, “With his attitude towards the young miss, I believe that we do not need to worry about this point. However, we need to make some preparations for the choice three months later. There are some materials that aren’t easy to find.”
“That’s fine.”
Even though the Spider Empress’ voice disappeared, the elder still stood there without moving, as if he was waiting for something.
A while later, a light suddenly illuminated in midair. Under this weak lightning, a face that was full of classical beauty appeared. It was precisely Lanaxis. However, her face was over thirty meters tall, floating in the darkness just like that. Meanwhile, the elder stood just like that by the tip of her nose, appearing as insignificant as an ant.
The elder revealed a grave expression for the first time. He reached out his hands, condensing an expanse of unbelievably soft darkness to gently support a bubble. Upon closer inspection, the bubble Lanaxis blew out contained a membrane that was thin to an almost transparent level. Inside swirled light yellow and soft white colors, unknown if it was water vapor or some other type of liquid.
After releasing this small bubble, the Spider Empress’ face immediately became quite a bit more pale, to the point where it almost lacked color. Her voice seemed to carry some exhaustion as well. “This is for Madeline. During these three months, I can only trouble you.”
The elder slightly bowed and said, “Your Majesty, do not worry.” After speaking, he concentrated all of his attention on carrying that bubble that might break at any moment back in the direction he came from.
After walking out a few steps, the elder paused his footsteps and said, “Actually, Your Majesty does not need to worry too much. Even if that little fellow didn’t break through the critical point, after knowing what kind of choice he has to face, he will definitely choose to break through. As long as one breaks through the critical point, evolution becomes unavoidable.”
Lanaxis lightly sighed and said, “Dyke, do you still remember the book we saw ten years ago?”
The elder laughed and said, “Of course I do.” Only, in his smile, there seemed to be a something weighing him down.
When the elder left, this place sank into darkness again. Meanwhile, Lanaxis’ smile also gradually sunk, disappearing into the sea-like darkness.
At that moment, the elder’s expression wasn’t as gentle as his footsteps. Of course he remembered that book. Everything could be forgotten, just not that book that made him decide to live in seclusion. On the title page of the book, this was written:
“The root of all evil, is abilities and evolution.”
What was strange was that this was a book from the olden era.
