Asura in Arknights

"Leytania...it seems like things are about to change again..."

That little girl named Adele... was just the first victim.

What the old principal didn't know was that after Dr. Valcke left the office, he didn't obediently go back to prepare for the long three months ahead, as the principal had expected. Instead, he resolutely took out the small black box from his pocket.

"Old man... I'm not as afraid of death as you."

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Top floor of the library.

After Li Ang hid behind the door, the tower sorcerer pushed the door open and entered.

The other person was unaware that a third person had entered the room. He simply glanced around calmly before his gaze fell on Adele, completely oblivious to Li Ang behind the door.

“Very good, Miss Nauman. I thought you would be foolish enough to try to escape from here. I’m glad you haven’t disappointed me.” Seeing that Adele was still there, the tower sorcerer nodded in satisfaction.

"What...do you want to do to me?" Adele clenched her fists and said with considerable unease, without revealing Li Ang's presence at all.

“Don’t worry, I’m just here to deliver a message and give you a few things.” The tower warlock shrugged and said, “Heh, I hope you’ll still be as energetic as you are now after hearing this news.”

The sorcerer's laughter was filled with malice, giving both Leon and Adele an ominous premonition.

The other person pulled out a notebook covered in burn marks from his pocket and threw it onto the table in front of Adele.

"I have some bad news for you, Miss Nauman."

"Your father, Taylor Nauman, and his wife have tragically perished in a pyroclastic flow from a volcanic eruption."

"This notebook is the only relic we could find that he left behind."

Chapter Forty-Three: Thank You

"You're lying!!" Adele naturally denied it immediately.

No one would easily believe such unsubstantiated claims.

Why would I lie to you?

The tower sorcerer shrugged indifferently and said, "Whether it's your father's notebook or not, why don't you take a look and you'll know? Why would I lie to you about something so easily debunked?"

"Besides, didn't your father send a letter back more than a month ago? Judging from the departure time, he should have returned long ago. Don't you find it a bit strange?"

The sorcerer's words silenced Adele.

"Hehe, anyway, I've delivered the message. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

……

The tower sorcerer smiled and left the office.

He wasn't worried at all that Adele would escape from here. The entire Brandenburg was under the Tower's control, and even if she did dare to run away, the Tower had plenty of ways to bring her back.

When he reached the top of the stairs on this floor, another sorcerer who had accompanied him was already waiting there.

Before he could even walk over, he heard his companion's accusatory voice, "Alvin, I heard everything you just said. Don't you think you've gone too far?"

"Did you... really have to treat that little girl like that?"

"Too much?" The warlock named Alvin paused for a moment, then said with a hint of amusement, "Put away your indifferent sympathy, Lynn. Did I do something wrong just now?"

“I didn’t kill her parents. I just told her the truth.”

"I mean... can't you tone down that disgusting, perverse sense of humor a little?"

Seeing Lynn's undisguised disgust, Alvin raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, my great philanthropist, let's each take a step back. I won't concern myself with the rest. You can carry out Her Majesty's orders, how about that?"

"..."

The two stared at each other, and after a period of stalemate, the young man named Lynn finally backed down.

Lynn took a step back, looked away, and said, "...I'm sorry, I acted impulsively just now."

Getting into a conflict with the other party in this kind of matter is completely pointless.

"Hmph... It's alright, they're young, I can understand."

Alvin snorted and stepped forward, then patted Lynn's shoulder forcefully. "If we went back ten years, my reaction might have been the same as yours, but so many years have passed, I'm used to this kind of thing now."

"You'll experience all of this sooner or later—put away your sympathy and don't forget who you are. This is advice from your seniors."

"But that girl didn't do anything wrong."

"She came into contact with knowledge she shouldn't have, and that was her mistake."

Hearing this, Lynn couldn't help but speak up, "But that knowledge isn't completely forbidden; the Tower has several places where it's permitted. That girl is very talented. If she can join the Tower like us, her previous mistakes won't matter at all, right?"

Lynn hadn't been with the Tower for long, so he genuinely sympathized with Miss Nauman's plight and was still trying to find a way to help her out of her predicament.

However, Alvin completely extinguished all of Lynn's thoughts with just a casual remark.

"She is infected."

Lynn fell silent.

The tower... has never had a precedent of admitting infected people, never.

"Have you asked all your questions? If your curiosity has been satisfied, let's go. The rest will be taken care of."

"I have one last question... Was the incident involving that girl's parents really not done by our people?"

The deaths of the Naumans were suspicious in too many ways, and the mission they were given afterward made it hard not to suspect other things.

Upon hearing this, Alvin stopped in his tracks, turned around and carefully examined Lynn. After a long while, he slowly said, "Little Lynn... you really don't think before you speak. Luckily, I'm here with you now."

"But never mind, to tell you the truth, I don't know either. There are a lot of people watching them, and anyone could make a move in secret. By the time our people arrived at the scene, all of Nauman and his wife's belongings had already been taken away."

"The only thing left at the scene was the laptop that was half burned."

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As soon as the sorcerer left, Leon dashed out from behind the door and rushed to Adele.

"Adele, are you alright?"

"Don't believe that guy's nonsense, your uncle will be fine."

In this situation, Li Ang didn't know what to say. He had never experienced such a complicated situation before, so he could only offer a few words of comfort in this very clumsy way.

"I...I'm fine."

Anyone could hear the tremor in Adele's voice.

Although Leon didn't want to believe it either, the sorcerer was right. There was no point in him trying to deceive Adele with such a thing. Even if he wanted to use her parents as a threat, he shouldn't have told Adele about their deaths directly.

"...I want to take a look."

As she said this softly, Adele reached for the notebook on the table.

Intuition told Li Ang that he should stop Adele's next move, but he couldn't think of any reason to stop her, or what status he could use to prevent a daughter from confirming the life or death of her parents.

In the end, Li Ang could only watch silently as she opened the notebook in her hand.

Adele's hands froze in mid-air after just a quick glance.

The notebook slipped limply from Adele's hands and fell to the ground with a thud, tears falling drop by drop onto the notebook's charred cover.

This is... terrible... this must be the worst-case scenario...

"The handwriting above... was left by Dad..."

Adele's voice had become very choked up; she seemed to have all her strength drained away, and she swayed as if she might fall at any moment.

Taking a step forward, Li Ang supported Adele's body, which was about to lose its strength, and gently pulled her into his arms.

"Cry...maybe crying will make you feel better."

Gently patting Adele's back, Li Ang felt tears gradually soaking his chest, but even as tears kept flowing from her eyes, Adele still managed to hold back without making a sound.

Why be so stubborn at a time like this? It would be better to cry out loud... Li Ang was speechless. It was better not to say anything at this time. The only thing he could do for her now was to provide her with a place to cry for the time being.

Gradually, after an unknown amount of time, Li Ang felt Adele stop crying and gently push her away from his embrace.

Adele gently stroked the cover of the book in her hand, glistening tears welling in her eyes, and a bright smile appeared on the girl's face. "Thank you for the gift."

"I... had a very happy day."

"So... leave me alone. Get out of here, Leon."

Chapter Forty-Four: I Refuse

Don't worry about me... Let's get out of here... Lyon...

That slightly tearful voice was like a bombshell, exploding in Li Ang's mind. In that instant, it felt as if a million ants were crawling in his heart, and his anxiety filled him. He desperately needed a way to vent all his resentment.

As Adele suggested, should we leave her here and then go on our own?

Yes, doing so can indeed avoid trouble. Adele is imprisoned here by the 'Tower' of Letania. In a sense, going against the Tower is equivalent to going against the country of Letania.

If we want to help Adele, it's like confronting a whole country, which will inevitably bring endless trouble.

But what would happen to Adele if she did that? Her parents had already been murdered, and Leon didn't believe that two volcano experts would die in a ridiculous pyroclastic flow. Now, the only one left was their daughter.

What awaits Adele ahead is certainly not a bright future. If Li Ang leaves here, it may be the last time he sees Adele.

The thought of this possibility made Li Ang feel a sense of oppression in his chest. Could he accept such a future? Without even needing to think about it carefully, the voice in his heart had already given the answer.

No.

Adele was the first person Leon met after arriving in this world, and also the person he spent the most time with, holding a very special place in his heart.

When he felt lost and desperate in the void, it was her voice that brought Li Ang a glimmer of hope. She said, "Don't worry, I'll get you out right away."

When he was feeling lost and confused about the future, she found a way forward for Leon. She said, "Do you want to come with me to Letania?"

When she was penniless and almost homeless, she still found Li Ang and offered her help, saying, "If you don't mind, you can stay at my place for now."

The first greeting in the morning, a casual smile at noon, a goodnight after nightfall—unconsciously, this kind and gentle girl has completely integrated into Li Ang's life, and every corner of his memory is filled with her image.

But this time, she said to herself, "Leave here, Leon. You've done enough for me; there's no need for me to get into this kind of trouble."

No… that’s not enough. Li Ang knew he hadn’t done enough; he could do more.

"I'm afraid we really have to part ways this time. I think I've fulfilled all the promises I made to you back then, right? Ah... it seems like there's still one left."

Looking at the silent Li Ang before her, Adele wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and forced a smile. "Let's talk about the remaining unfulfilled promise next time we meet."

“Goodbye, Leon. You should start living your own life now. You can’t always be like this,” Adele said with a hint of reproach.

Bending down, Adele picked up the notebook that had fallen to the ground and placed it together with the book that Li Ang had given her, hugging it tightly to her chest.

Why did I still harbor the illusion that it was just an accident when that had already happened before I came back?

Now, the accident is no longer an accident, and the thing Adele least wanted to see has happened, but... thankfully it only affected her.

As long as Li Ang leaves now, there's no need to worry about implicating him. No one will know that Li Ang was here; she has always been the only person in this house.

That should be fine, right?

However, before she could stand up, Adele felt a strong hand press down on her shoulder, and a somewhat hoarse voice entered her ears at the same time.

“What you said makes some sense; using a tower as an enemy is indeed troublesome… but…”

"I refuse."

Li Ang put his arm around Adele's shoulder and lifted her up from the ground.

In an instant, Adele felt extremely confused about the situation and instinctively struggled violently in Leon's arms.

"Hey hey hey?? Li Ang, what are you trying to do? Put me down right now!"

However, Li Ang's strength was no match for Adele's resistance. As if he didn't feel Adele's struggle, he said to himself, "Didn't I say before? You have to keep your promises!! I... hate people who break their word the most."

There was still one agreement left between them, but by now Li Ang understood that it was no longer just a simple agreement...

How should he define his feelings for Adele? Was it liking? Or love? Or simply dependence? Even Li Ang himself wasn't quite sure, but for him now, figuring it out was completely irrelevant.

Rationality? Right and wrong? Gains and losses? None of these matter. Life is like a river that cannot be turned back. All Li Ang knows now is that he doesn't want the figure in his memory to disappear.

"Adele... hold on tight, I'm going to get you out of here."

Upon hearing this, Adele instinctively hugged Leon's neck tightly. Then she felt as if the air around her had turned into a viscous liquid, as if it were being squeezed onto her body.

The scenery before them had become blurred, like elongated ribbons of color. The two of them traversed the library corridor at a speed that was beyond the reach of ordinary people, transforming into a dark streak of light as they leaped out of the corridor window.

The whistling wind echoed in Adele's ears, but Li Ang's voice reached her ears with perfect clarity.

"Whatever their purpose is, even if the Twin Queens want to capture you, I will take you away from this country just as you brought me here in the first place."