Angel paused for two seconds, then nodded heavily.
"A vanished civilization may sound like nothing more than an objective description, but the weight it carries..." Angel's lips trembled. "It is beyond all measure."
A weight beyond all measure... Hearing that conclusion, the Decayer's gaze grew somewhat vacant.
A moment later, it gently exhaled the stale breath in its chest.
"You were willing to let me stay and observe. I suppose I owe you a favor for that." The Decayer said, "I am not one to take advantage of others. In return, I can help you..."
The Decayer had instinctively wanted to say, "help you with something." That was a phrase it had often used back when it believed in Academy City, whenever it gained new knowledge.
But it suddenly remembered that it was no longer in Academy City, and in its current state, it could not help anyone else.
Nor was it an examiner anymore. It could not grant Angel any convenience in the Heart Chapter's trials.
So it stopped halfway through its words, momentarily unsure how to "repay" him.
It closed its eyes briefly, then slowly opened them. "I have nothing with which to help you. The only thing I have left is some useless knowledge."
Back when it had still been a seeker of the Way, knowledge had been "useful." But now, knowledge was of no use to it.
In its eyes, it was even a burden.
If it had not left its homeland in pursuit of the truth of knowledge, perhaps it could have vanished alongside its civilization without burden...
Instead of bearing everything as it did now.
"Although knowledge is useless to me now, as a believer of the Cruel Scholar, I cannot give it to you for free. However, in return for your favor, I