Chapter 265

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 265

Suddenly, she looked at Sylas and asked, "Would you mind if I said this about your mother? In a… objective sort of way, sometimes using words that seem a bit detached from reality?"

Sylas quickly shook her head, saying, "My mother died a long time ago. Someone turned her into a Lich."

Xerath looked at her teasingly and said, "Why are you so sure? It’s hard to tell, but I even had a moment where I thought she might take you away…" She suddenly stopped herself, feeling that the word "take away" was particularly inappropriate, as if it would reveal her intention to keep Sylas for herself.

But Sylas seemed not to have noticed.

"Well… my mother was a gentle person. I always remembered that if it was really her, she would never treat you like this or take away so many lives just to force me to become a Lich. My mother would never force her child to do something they don’t like."

A mischievous glint appeared in Xerath’s eyes. "It’s only your own parents who would force you to do something you don’t like. I bet if my mother became a Lich, I wouldn’t be able to tell from the letter she wrote me, saying ‘you must get married, it’s a social task that must be completed regardless of age.’"

Sylas couldn’t help but laugh.

But Xerath suddenly spoke seriously, "Sylas, you must promise me."

"Huh? What?" Sylas was confused, as Xerath hadn’t mentioned the powerful word "promise" for a long time.

"Don’t let anyone know about the attack on my Lich and your connection to it. I mean, even though we’ve figured out that you’re the little princess of the Setis family, your true identity must remain a secret. Act as if you still don’t know, even if Diego presents undeniable evidence to you, you must firmly deny it."

"W-Why?"

Xerath sighed, "Our knowledge about Lich is no more than what we know about the deep sea. If faced with someone who has a mysterious connection to an unknown fear, I would choose to eliminate them directly. Similarly, I believe the Mage Guild would choose to eliminate you."

"That’s absurd!" Sylas sat upright.

Xerath patted her shoulder, "Remember when I told you? Human nature is chaotic and absurd, thinking is difficult, distinguishing is difficult, and many people choose not to think."

But this is a guild! It’s the gathering of the most rational people in the world.

Xerath sighed deeply, "I believe in human rationality, but I can’t leave your fate in the hands of a group of strangers who happen to be less rational when dealing with Lich."

Sylas blinked her eyes in confusion.

Xerath smiled and said, "You see, your rationality tells you that all magic spells are the same, originally there is no distinction between good and evil. They have existed since long before humans and other living beings appeared. It is the needs of humans that divided them into two factions. But the Mage Guild still has a convention that prohibits the study of any shadow magic, which leaves us completely ignorant about it. We are even defenseless when faced with a Lich. We are denied the right to understand our enemies, so this decision is clearly not rational. I don’t believe they will treat you fairly."

The archmage opened a crack in the void out of thin air, and water gushed out. Hyectra created a protrusion behind her so she could lean back comfortably (with armrests too).

"After this incident, I realized that I was too proud before. I actually don’t have the ability to protect you, but rather, I rely on you for protection. My only wish is that if you think I am useless, please don’t say it to my face." She looked very guilty, supporting her forehead and not even daring to look up.

"You have already protected me enough! Besides, what’s wrong with me protecting you? Even the strongest person has their own weaknesses. Even a god cannot create a stone that they themselves cannot lift. You can’t blame yourself for not being able to do something that no one can do. Isn’t that just being arrogant?"

Xerath looked through her fingers at Sylas, who was talking confidently, and suddenly chuckled, "Yes, I have taught you even better than myself. I should be proud of that."

"No, no… I’m not more powerful than my teacher… but I’m still very happy to protect you. As I said before, now I have achieved it…"

"Thank you…" Xerath said softly, but when Sylas looked up, she was already looking elsewhere. The archmage flicked her hair and raised her voice slightly, "It’s fine this way too. If you felt indebted to me in the past because I rescued you from the underground and raised you, you don’t have to anymore."

"No, it’s not… I still owe a lot…" the apprentice protested timidly, bowing her head and saying quietly, "I still owe a lot…"

She even counted on her fingers, "You taught me to read and write, taught me to differentiate between beasts, taught me magic, let me live in your tower for so many years, sent me to school, showed me many books, let me wear your clothes…"

Xerath held her hand to stop her from counting further, "I don’t mind, you know, I don’t need you to repay me."

"But, but…"

Sylas looked very upset, which made Xerath feel a little upset too – I already said I don’t need you to repay me, what else do you want?

The archmage, with little interest, changed the topic, deciding not to continue dwelling on this issue.

"I asked you to keep your true identity a secret for another reason."

Sylas was indeed a young person, immediately captivated by curiosity, "What is it?"

"Raphael… I don’t know if you still remember this name."

Sylas tilted her head in confusion, Raphael, Diego, and Virgil were all names that were quite common on the continent, out of a hundred people, there would always be three or four named Diego, one or two named Raphael, and maybe even an Virgil.

"Raphael is the person who locked you in the underground temple and banished all the elements with Holy Light."

Sylas exclaimed, but she actually didn’t have much memory of how she was locked up. The cave was her hiding place, and at that time, the cave she hid in was safe and had food, and a few elements to keep her company. It felt more like "home".

"It’s difficult to evaluate what he did back then. He used to be the priest of the Keatler Parish and shouldn’t have interfered with the Mage Guild’s affairs. But he did manage to quell the element turmoil in Keatler – he captured the mastermind. And his intention of capturing you wasn’t really about you, but rather about having you help guard the underground temple that is worth more than a hundred thousand gold coins. The entire temple was made of Sunstone."

Sylas took a sharp breath. The underground temple was huge in size and intricately structured; when you considered the price of Sunstone now…

Xerath gloated and extended a hand, shaking it, saying, "Back then, demon beasts of your level were worth at most two thousand gold coins. If I had sold you at that time, Virgil might have helped me get three thousand."

Her expression was too adorable. Unlike before when such things were mentioned, Sylas didn’t immediately think that Xerath wanted to throw her away, but rather, she found her so cute that she felt like devouring her in one bite.

"However, this doesn’t mean that Raphael has no other intentions, so we can’t let him know about your background."

Upon receiving Xerath’s serious gaze, Sylas nodded enthusiastically. She particularly liked the possessiveness that Xerath showed towards her at this moment. Just the thought of actually "belonging to her" made her excited and tremble, not to mention the occasional emphasis from Xerath herself.

"Actually, I have one more question."

"Can I answer it?"

"Diego told me about the attack on Withered Leaf City’s guild, which is clearly related to the Aimekotes’ assault, but not entirely the same organization. This is the reason I’m worried. The Lich is still lurking in the shadows, not just one, and it was too easy for you to defeat the Black Lantern Giant. Your mother had no reason to not be able to defeat him."

"Perhaps there are many Black Lanterns, and it’s just a magical tool made according to legends?"

Xerath nodded confidently. "Makes sense. However, this implies that there is more than one Black Lantern Giant, and their leader must be a Lich. Their organization’s structure is also easy to figure out – their upper ranks are made up of Lich nobles, and they have some elite monsters as their underlings. The Black Lanterns are definitely one of them, and the assassins who can hide in the shadows must be another kind."

Sylas also nodded confidently.

Xerath calmly asked, "So what about Sauran? Sauran being able to find you makes me feel like there is an unusual connection. The Sauran family’s possessions were divided equally between the guild and the kingdom, so the Lich organization couldn’t possibly be interested in him for his money. Then, what value does he have to be used?"

Sylas suddenly stiffened. Xerath could tell from her expression that she definitely knew something.

"Sylas, this is strange. Lacrima originally wanted to capture both of us, but she didn’t know you had already left. Now there’s another group of people who clearly know your whereabouts, but they didn’t inform Lacrima. And, there might even be some tracking spell on you that allows them to know your movements faster." The old mage was always proactive, and as she spoke, she got up and seemed like she was going to pounce on Sylas to examine her closely.

The young apprentice must know something. The archmage’s scrutinizing gaze mercilessly swept across her face, staring into her emerald eyes. Her pupils gradually shrank due to fear, and the crystals inside them slowly flowed and changed, like a complex and expensive kaleidoscope.

Even without any reason, Sylas would be afraid of her "completely objective" gaze, let alone the fact that she still had a little secret in her heart. Unable to withstand the pressure, she turned her head, but suddenly felt something pressing against her waist, the Archmage’s hand poking her waist, and said in a low voice, "You must know what’s going on, hmm?"