Chapter 21: Confrontation and Collapse

Song Ze: “!!!” Wait, isn’t this too fast?

Before Song Ze’s astonished eyes, Aliel’s figure suddenly appeared in this space.

At the same time, the originally harmonious atmosphere, tinged with a subtle homoerotic tension, instantly shifted, becoming tense and dangerous.

Count William, who had initially sneered at the appearance of a pretty boy and intended to teach the insolent young man a lesson, was almost directly killed by an arrow the next moment.

Terrified, Count William hid behind the others: “…” Where did these people come from with such high combat power?

The moment Aliel and Idis met, this time even the mutual insults of the previous encounter were skipped. Nor did they question Song Ze about what was going on (probably saving the reckoning for later). They were like arch-enemies, their eyes bloodshot, and immediately broke into a fierce fight.

Song Ze was at his wit’s end, thinking that even with everyone trying this hard, was it still impossible to avoid the fate of reloading!

No, many things were different this time. Song Ze looked at the increasingly unstable magic array beside him. Perhaps because the magic array was stimulated by the inheritance mark on his body, Song Ze could clearly feel the forbidden spell array collapsing step by step.

If he could just hold on a little longer, then…

The battle over there was also extremely intense. Perhaps because it wasn’t a closed space like the secret chamber, the two directly used large-scale attacks, causing the ground to tremble. The effects of their high-level magic nearly created light pollution, blinding Song Ze who was watching on the sidelines.

He silently hoped in his heart that these two would keep fighting for a while longer, while constantly monitoring the magic array’s condition.

But this time was different from before. Maybe because the environment here was biased towards darkness, which was more favorable to Idis.

Aliel was actually at a slight disadvantage. His natural aura barrier was broken by a careless mistake, and soon he was attacked by black mist. His expression changed drastically, and he abruptly retreated several steps.

Idis sneered, silently chanting a spell, and launched a fatal attack in this direction.

“Stop!—”

What could Song Ze do at a time like this? He resolutely stood in front of Aliel.

At this moment, he had to thank the fact that Aliel was relatively close to him. If it had been like the previous secret chamber, where Idis stood so far away, he wouldn’t have been able to block even if he wanted to.

The attack that was about to land immediately halted.

Idis’s gaze towards him was frighteningly cold, those violet eyes tinged with a bloody light. Yet his tone was as gentle as ever, “How dangerous. What if I accidentally hurt you?”

Song Ze steeled himself and said, “I won’t step aside. I won’t let Brother Idis hurt Aliel.”

Aliel was stunned behind him.

[Affection for target Aliel +50, current affection maxed.]

Song Ze: “…” It’s already maxed, so stop reminding me! But this increase in affection is terrifyingly large.

“Why?” Idis asked. “Do you like him so much? This hound of the temple—wouldn’t it be cleaner if he died?”

“No.” Song Ze knew that at this moment, to buy time, he had to keep talking with Idis. He certainly couldn’t say anything that would provoke him. He racked his brains, then looked at him, “He’s my friend. So I don’t want to see him get hurt… Brother Idis, if it were you in danger, I would do the same!”

Song Ze’s words were sincere to the extreme. After all, he had actually done so! If he hadn’t shielded Idis, he wouldn’t be standing here now!

Although this speech had a bit of a two-timing vibe, anyone would be moved by the beautiful young man’s worried and pained expression, his sincere eyes, and his trembling yet determined stance.

Idis sighed softly.

“You’ve always been this kind of child,” he said gently. “In the past, for me too… If that incident hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

‘But that’s entirely because you’re too insincere!’ Song Ze thought, but he said aloud, “Brother Idis, if you just let Aliel go, I’ll go with you.”

Aliel behind him immediately changed expression, “No. Who knows what he’ll do to you?”

“You’re really good,” Idis said, looking at Aliel behind Song Ze as if he were already dead. “But I can’t let this person go.”

As he spoke, the ground suddenly split open, countless tendrils reaching towards the two. But clearly, those aimed at Song Ze were gentle, while those targeting Aliel were filled with killing intent.

Trouble!

At that moment, Song Ze pushed Aliel behind him. The next instant, his body suddenly grew hot, his strength drained away as if emptied, replaced by a burning sensation from the mark on his back.

“Damn—” Count William’s panicked voice came from afar.

As the mark released astonishing power, the already distorted magic array nearby finally completely collapsed.

This was a forbidden spell capable of controlling a large area. Its collapse caused the entire ground to shake, numerous cracks appearing, and beneath the cracks was an abyssal blackness. As for the whole space, rocks continuously fell.

Amidst the rumbling, one could faintly hear the screams of undead monsters from outside, as well as joyful voices from people.

As for Song Ze, his strength was completely drained, and he was not far from fainting.

Aliel immediately picked him up horizontally and rushed towards the outside. If he didn’t leave now, even with his own strength, he might be buried here with Song Ze.

Song Ze, on the verge of unconsciousness, struggled to look towards Idis.

If Idis died, all his efforts would be in vain!!

But in the dim space, with his blurred vision, he could only vaguely notice that in the darkness, there seemed to be a pair of eyes tenderly gazing at him, yet sending chills down his spine.

Those were…

*****

In the blink of an eye, a few days passed.

The incident of Duke Idis using a forbidden spell to try to turn everyone into puppets, which had shaken half the empire and the temple, was now mostly over.

The duke’s estate had been reduced to ruins after the failure of the forbidden spell, with a large amount of residual chaotic power wandering within. More terrifying were the cracks inside, leading to unknown regions. Various horror stories based on the estate began to circulate.

The temple naturally sealed off the place for future investigation.

Song Ze, as the old duke’s foster child, should have been implicated in such a major incident. But because he had bravely rescued everyone, made a moving speech, and was severely injured fighting the evil Duke Idis, he became a hero of the empire, his reputation soaring.

During Song Ze’s recovery, countless nobles came with their daughters to visit him… There were also many noble sons, even the Third Prince. They had all attended the previous funeral and, after being saved by Song Ze, their affection greatly increased, trying to offer themselves to him.

Of course, all these people were turned away by Aliel.

As if Aliel would let those with ulterior motives come in to seduce Song Ze! Having one Idis was enough!

Regarding Idis, because Song Ze had reloaded, Aliel wasn’t very clear about their relationship, but based on their attitudes earlier, he could guess seven or eight out of ten!

Song Ze had just sat up in bed when he saw Aliel enter, carrying breakfast.

“Aliel, no need…” Song Ze felt a bit embarrassed. After finally escaping Idis’s feeding, now he was being fed daily by Aliel. What a shameful play this was!

He immediately said, “I can eat by myself! I’m fine already.”

Song Ze’s strength had just been drained; after a few days of rest, he was fully recovered! Instead, Aliel’s injuries were more serious. But he had never told Song Ze how his injuries were, so Song Ze didn’t know his condition.

“You rest well,” Aliel said, looking at him with a hint of a smile. “Don’t move, or I’ll kiss you.”

“Mm, mm.” Song Ze obediently sat still.

“In a few days, we’ll go back to the elf tribe together,” Aliel added. “About the wedding…”

“Wait, wait!” Song Ze suddenly spoke. “Before that, shouldn’t we go to the temple to report? It seems the high priest came by earlier, saying we need to go to the Floating City… Isn’t the matter serious now?”

“That’s true,” Aliel nodded slightly.

After all, Idis’s incident was indeed very serious. And as a key figure, Song Ze naturally couldn’t avoid it. Moreover, going to the Floating City might also help find clues about the recent anomaly in their sacred ground.

Song Ze breathed a sigh of relief in his heart—that really saved his life!

Marrying Aliel was something to be postponed as much as possible… Not just because of the homosexual issue, but also because if Aliel opened the letter he had written earlier—

That letter was a ticking time bomb!!! Why did he write such a harmful thing to himself!!

But now, he could finally meet the Saint!

Thinking of this, Song Ze felt that all his previous suffering was nothing! As long as he could see his goddess!

*****

Under a blood-red moon.

A strikingly handsome black-haired young man stood in the garden, casually pruning the roses before him. With every leaf cut, a liquid like blood oozed out.

It was a scene as beautiful as an oil painting yet filled with a chilling eerie aura.

“Your Highness.” A man hurried over and knelt respectfully. “That damned human seems to have gotten involved in an incident created by a human under our control… And obviously, he has obtained the inheritance and managed to destroy the entire forbidden spell…”

“I see.” The black-haired young man lowered his head, gently picked a rose in front of him, and said softly, “He really didn’t disappoint me.”

… … …

[Affection for target Andreya +10, current affection 65.]

Song Ze, sitting in the carriage, immediately changed expression.

What’s going on! This time he hadn’t done anything related to demons! Except for that insignificant Count William, and yet Andreya’s affection increased!!

Why was it so easy now when before it had been so hard to increase!

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