Chapter 18: The Unforeseen Intervention

If he didn’t intervene in the main storyline, the future would remain unaltered.

Though Liyang currently appeared utterly wretched and pathetic, her life was not truly in danger.

Even if she were to be brainwashed, Celeste would eventually rescue her regardless.

However, a hasty involvement in the main plot would trigger a butterfly effect, causing the future to diverge completely from its anticipated course.

Consequently, Yalin would forfeit his invaluable knowledge of future events, rendering him completely ignorant of the plot’s subsequent developments.

Indeed, it was a difficult choice.

After a single second of profound deliberation, Yalin decisively chose to intervene.

‘What was the use of this so-called “information advantage” now?’

If the original plot were to unfold, he would be annihilated, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.

Moreover, and more crucially, he harbored a keen interest in the necklace Liyang held.

Twisting tentacles, having coiled around her slender, easily grasped waist, were now stealthily creeping upwards.

Liyang had, by this point, ceased all resistance.

Cold rainwater mercilessly lashed against her cheeks, while her vacant, bewildered eyes stared blankly up at the overcast sky.

The heavens were a gloomy grey, as if an invisible, colossal hand pressed down upon the entire firmament, suffocating all beneath it.

This familiar hue once again.

She recalled that the day she had been separated from her mother had also been marked by such rain.

Fine, silent threads of rain descended, creating ripple after ripple.

Her mother had clasped her hand tightly, saying nothing, merely guiding her gently into the carriage.

From that moment on, a persistent shadow had fallen over her heart, and it had never known clear skies again.

“Am I… am I going to die?”

“Father, Mother… where are you?”

“If I die, will I be able to see you again?”

A slick, squelching sound!

Her consciousness began to drift, and just as Liyang resigned herself to certain death, the tentacles clinging to her body recoiled abruptly, as if startled.

Her body regained control, but Liyang found she lacked even the strength to stand; her legs buckled, and she tumbled backward.

Just as she was about to fall, a timely hand caught her.

Liyang groggily opened her eyes, lifted her head, and gazed upon the young man’s distinctly chiseled face.

He stood there quietly in the rain.

His dark, fragmented hair, dampened by the rain, clung to his forehead, yet it did not appear disheveled.

A faint smile played upon his gentle features, and his clear eyes regarded her with tender concern.

“Is… is that you?”

Liyang’s lips parted slightly as she whispered.

She knew this young man.

However, their acquaintance was purely superficial.

They were merely ordinary classmates, rarely interacting in their daily lives.

Of Yalin, she knew little beyond the fact that he seemed perpetually engaged in pursuing Celeste.

Yet, why was he here?

She simply could not comprehend it.

Could she, perhaps, be dreaming?

“Where did you spring from?”

The cold voice, imbued with undeniable killing intent, sent a chill down Liyang’s spine, jolting her consciousness awake.

This was no dream.

Nabel remained rooted to his spot, but the confident composure that had graced his face was utterly gone.

Black tentacles writhed around him, forming an eerie dark wall, through whose gaps his sinister gaze pierced, as if poised to devour someone whole in the next instant.

He could not fathom where Yalin had suddenly appeared from.

As a priest of the Abyss Church, he hadn’t even detected a wisp of Yalin’s presence.

The young man before him appeared unremarkable, yet strangely, no matter how Nabel observed him, he could not sense any magical fluctuations emanating from him.

Could it be that this fellow possessed no magical abilities whatsoever?

Yet, his calm and collected expression suggested otherwise.

Or perhaps, this individual’s power was so terrifyingly immense that Nabel himself couldn’t even perceive it?

“Might I ask you not to interfere? This is a private matter between us.”

Nabel, disinclined to engage with such an enigmatic stranger, deliberately employed a vague turn of phrase.

Unfortunately, Yalin was entirely unreceptive to his suggestion.

“That simply won’t do. How could I possibly stand by and do nothing when a young lady is in distress?”

‘Damn it, this accursed body is completely out of control.’

Before he could even react, those greasy words had effortlessly spilled from his mouth.

Yalin’s mouth twitched, and an urge to curse welled up within him, though he remained oblivious to the subtle shift in Liyang’s gaze beside him.

Liyang stared blankly at Yalin, and a glimmer of light reappeared in her previously lifeless eyes.

Though it was a simple remark, it felt like a faint ray of light piercing through the gloom, illuminating Liyang’s heart.

She had heard Yalin utter similar words before.

Back then, he had boasted about himself with a frivolous air, appearing to be nothing more than a bragging fop—the very embodiment of everything Liyang disdained.

Yet, why did his presence now bring such an overwhelming sense of reassurance?

“Give me the necklace.”

Yalin suddenly lowered his voice and said.

Liyang looked utterly bewildered, still reeling from her state of profound weakness.

Yalin clicked his tongue, realizing there was no other option but to retrieve it himself.

Without any warning, he suddenly raised his hand.

Nabel’s expression hardened, and the black tentacles writhed wildly.

‘Was it coming? Was he about to make a move?’

Nabel was fully concentrated, not daring to show even a hint of slackness, but Yalin had no intention of making a move at all.

Instead, he directly slipped his hand inside Liyang’s collar.

“Eh… Eeyah!”

Liyang arched her back abruptly, as if struck by an electric shock, letting out an embarrassing whimper, and her fair cheeks instantly flushed crimson.

“W-what are you doing… Nngh—”

Ignoring Liyang’s strange cries, Yalin fumbled around and finally pulled out the necklace.

‘Tsk, the little thing was quite well-hidden.’

‘Fortunately, Liyang possessed a rather “modest” figure (TL Note: A euphemism for a very small bust), allowing him to retrieve it with ease; had it been Nomnom, he likely wouldn’t have even been able to slip his hand inside.’

Upon seeing the red-glowing necklace in Yalin’s hand, Nabel’s eyes widened in fury, and veins pulsed visibly on his temples.

‘This brat had actually overheard their conversation and knew his true objective!’

“You wretched boy, hand it over immediately if you don’t wish to die!”

“Isn’t this what you want? If I give it to you, won’t both of us be doomed?”

Yalin shrugged, dangling the necklace in his hand.

He glanced at Liyang beside him. “Run, now!”

Liyang, her eyes brimming with tears and her face flushed crimson, trembled as she clutched her collar tightly.

However, she was no fool; she understood that Yalin, in this situation, harbored no intentions of taking advantage of her vulnerability.

He merely intended to use the necklace to divert their opponent’s attention, thereby allowing her to escape.

Liyang bit her lip, and after a moment’s hesitation, she stumbled backward and fled.

“I’ll go find help, wait for me, Yalin…”

‘Excellent, it seems her intelligence is still intact; she understood that staying here would only hinder him and made the correct choice with utmost speed.’

‘Not bad, not bad at all. As expected of one of the future protagonist group members, I approve.’

‘But if you’re going to run, can’t you just run properly? What was the meaning of shouting my name at the end?’

‘I kindly saved you, and you immediately sold me out, didn’t you?’

With a look of resignation, Yalin turned his attention back to Nabel.

He watched as the tension completely vanished from Nabel’s body, who then began to laugh, his shoulders shaking.

“You scoundrel… I hear your name is Yalin, is that right?”