Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"Gone..."

Lyle and Ariana moved one after the other, maintaining a constant distance between them. But inside, something was subtly changing.

The castle's main hall was bathed in light, shining as brightly as day. The cacophony of sounds made the atmosphere even more lively, adding a touch of passion to the musicians' music.

Kevin and his companions had already arrived at the ball. They hadn't informed Lyle beforehand because they had witnessed Beatrice knocking on the door. They were leaning against a window, their eyes scanning the crowd at the ball.

Karen and Elian stood not far from them, the difference being that Karen was staring at the food, while Elian was staring at Karen.

Fanila and Hines stood on the other side, equally unwilling to join the dance. Fanila looked at the roast suckling pig on the table with displeasure, while Hines was deep in thought with his eyes closed, the white flame lantern in his hand burning brightly.

“The plague healer…” Ariana’s gaze was fixed on the center of the ball, where pairs of figures were dancing gracefully. Their dresses swayed with the music, and in the candlelight, they looked like blooming flowers.

“I want to dance…with you…” The last words almost disappeared, but from Ariana’s movements and questioning tone, Lyle easily understood what she meant.

With a heart full of dreams and absurdity, Lyle's voice trembled without even his own awareness.

"Why me...?"

Ariana lowered her head, her fingers clasped together.

“Because…the plague doctor is…I feel very…I’m very curious…” The veil was lifted again, and Lyle could sense that Ariana was waiting for his reply.

However, Lyle was already overwhelmed by uncontrollable grief, and the restlessness in his heart was like a rising flame that ignited his reason.

"To you... am I just... curious about something new? Have you ever... felt anything else?"

Ariana seemed flustered. She didn't know the answer to the question, but she knew that things were definitely not the way she wanted them to be.

She took Lyle's hand, very carefully, her voice trembling with anxiety and a sense of loss.

“I don’t know… Plague Doctor…” Ariana lowered her head, then her veil slowly drew closer, as if trying to pierce through the two lenses and gaze directly at Lyle’s soul. “I don’t know… if I have any other feelings…” Her voice was filled with sorrow, like the cry of a swan about to die. “Perhaps… Plague Doctor… can teach me… what I should feel.”

The bitterness in his heart burned away Lyle's reason, and he suffered the sadness of receiving no response.

Lyle acted impulsively, branding that image onto his wounds. After he shook off her hand, she silently endured the disappointment of being rejected.

“I am not like you, Ariana. I don’t have time… to teach a… heartless person.”

Lyle was unaware of his own feelings; his heart was numb. He returned to his room in a daze.

Chapter 176 Intimate Friend

Like a piece of ice floating in the ocean, Lyle felt his emotions slowly melting away, gradually becoming part of the dark tide.

Tears flow from the wounds in my heart; perhaps this is the best ending. After all, I am just a monkey trying to catch the moon's reflection in a lake. Time will surely make that reflection disappear.

Lying on the soft bed, I spread my arms out and looked at the blood-red moon outside the door and window. It seemed to be right between my fingers, but in reality, it hung in the distant sky.

The blood-red figure replaced the moon.

Lyle sat up, his heart pounding.

Why are you here?

Ariana appeared outside the door, her bright red skirt trailing on the ground like blood flowing from her body.

The sound was ethereal, like a gentle breeze drifting through a valley at night.

"I can't leave you alone. This castle is dangerous. I'm strong enough to protect you."

As if the unpleasantness between the two had never existed, Ariana walked into Lyle's room and leaned against the wall like a placed doll.

“Ariana…”

……

Kevin and William remained in the main hall, watching the pairs of noblemen and women dancing tirelessly.

"Aren't you going to show your elegance, Your Excellency?" William teased his friend, rubbing his neck.

Kevin glanced at him, his eyes filled with disdain.

"Then I might as well find a clothes hanger to dance with. At least a clothes hanger won't put on heavy makeup or use strong perfume to cover up an uncontrollable body odor."

"That's just an excuse, that's a subjective impression you have in your mind," William casually retorted.

Kevin smiled in response. "So, you're studying the objective impressions of the female elf? My dear William, your eyes have been fixed on Fanila the entire time."

"No way! I was just... just worried about whether she had noticed me!"

"Hehe, you know, elves have a much longer lifespan than us."

"...magicians have plenty of ways to prolong their lifespan."

Kevin casually picked up the glass of red wine the waiter offered. "Courageous friend, why don't you hurry up and go up to her, whisper it to her..."

“My dear Fanila, I am the lecherous clown you’ve been longing for. Hahahaha!” Kevin laughed without restraint, punching William’s shoulder as the crimson liquor swirled in his glass.

"I can't take it anymore, let me catch my breath." Kevin brought the glass to his lips, preparing to moisten his dry throat.

A hand snatched the wine glass from Kevin's lips.

Beatrice, her face grim, appeared beside Kevin. She looked at the astonished Kevin, her voice chilling.

Where is Ariana?

Beatrice, pale-faced and completely devoid of her previous drunkenness, resembled a queen going into battle, awaiting the wails of her enemies.

“Um…we should stay with the plague doctor now. I just saw them leave the main hall one after the other.”

"Why didn't you stop them! Don't you know where you are?! Or do you really think you're Hamlet's successor?!"

Kevin had no idea how he had offended this beautiful woman. Were all roses with thorns after all?

"Relax, Beatrice, they'll be fine..."

"You idiot! They're already in trouble! Quickly gather your companions! I need to find my sister."

……

Silence filled the room. Looking at Ariana standing to one side, even though her head was turned to the side and her gaze was not on him, Lyle felt as if he were being subjected to a cruel judgment.

Time seemed to stand still, with only Lyle's occasional slight movements proving its passage.

In the silence, Lyle heard a faint sound.

Click click click click.

As Lyle was searching for the source of the sound, the noisy noise suddenly amplified.

Correspondingly, there was a loud bang as the door suddenly slammed shut.

Ariana immediately floated to Lyle's side, grabbed his arm, and raised her wand with her other hand, pointing it at the door.

"Double Roar!"

Two fully formed ghosts appeared behind them, howling and their roars blasting the doorway.

The impact of the collision shook the entire room, and the red paint on the ceiling fell off in clumps, like lumps of falling flesh.

When all the minced meat fell away, a magic circle shimmering with a blood-red light was revealed. Under the light of the magic circle, the door remained intact.

Lyle finally discovered the source of the noise: it was inside the walls of the room.

The wall paint and wallpaper in the room turned into peeling flesh, and behind the flesh were countless dark holes, densely packed on the wall.

From those dark holes, one by one, blood-red worms the size of human heads, each with a horrifying maw, crawled out.

Like deformed leeches with three pairs of legs, their plump bodies covered in spiky shells, they crawled out of the hole in swarms, their hundreds or even thousands of legs moving and making a clicking sound that sent chills down your spine.

Their bodies were also covered with a layer of evil and sinister red light.

The swarm of insects rushed toward the two, and Ariana raised her wand once more.

"Symphony of Lamentation!" "Nia!"

The sonic boom and the bladed tentacles surged toward the swarm of insects, like a pebble thrown into a lake, leaving only ripples.

“They are immune to mental shocks; that red light protects them.” Ariana pulled Lyle back to the corner.

"Physical attacks are effective, but to a negligible degree. Their armor is too thick, and most importantly, there are too many of them!"

The sound of insects gnawing at Nia's projected tentacles, the incessant clicking, pierced the ears, like insects crawling inside your brain.

They were about to surround the two of them, and Lyle pressed the Andrei emblem on his hand.

“It’s no use, Plague Doctor. That magic circle has sealed this room as a whole, and we can’t send any of our magical messages out.”

"Are we just going to watch these insects devour us? There must be some other way!"

Ariana looked at Lyle, who seemed agitated, and grasped his hand, her slender fingers holding a strength.

"You'll be alright, Plague Doctor."

Ariana led Lyle to the other side of the house, where there was an armor decoration. To avoid interfering with the overall aesthetics of the room, a recessed area about one person's height was specially designed for the armor's placement.

Ariana threw the armor into the swarm of insects and placed Lyle into the crater.

"Nia! Come to me!" Nia heard Ariana's call, shook off the annoying insects, and burrowed into Ariana's body.

"Just like in the coffins where we rest in Naslan Castle, Plague Doctor, a good night's sleep will do you good."

Ariana's body pressed against Lyle, her bright red dress falling apart and disintegrating like splattered blood.

Amidst the countless fragments fluttering like fireflies, Lyle saw Ariana's true form, and the eerie blue flames of her soul within her eye sockets.

"do not look."

Her white finger bones covered the mask's lenses, and Lyle could only hear her voice.

The disintegrating fragments of the gown, like butterflies, perched on Ariana's bones, filling the gaps and, together with Ariana, forming the cover of the crater.

Just like sleeping.

In a daze, Lyle heard her voice, whispering in his ear.

"Medical worker, I can feel your heartbeat."

Then, the sound of the swarm engulfed everything.