Wish

"That's how it should have been. Confirmed failures would never be restarted. But Roa's resurrection changed everything." Altrouge Brunestud's eyes dimmed, and then voices came from around her.

"How is the investigation going regarding the Serpent of Akasha's resurrection and the power it unexpectedly gained?"

"Very... potential."

"Hmm, it seems they're relying on emotions to increase their power; it's unbelievable."

"Maybe..."

"Needless to say, Roa tricked the princess out of a portion of her power. When he returns that power, let's take this part with him. That way, he'll be more than qualified to be a vessel. Perhaps our resurrected lord will be even more powerful."

Those voices all originated from different ancestors, many of whom still adhered to the practice of welcoming back Crimson Moon. One of the voices seemed to have a specific purpose in mind, saying:

"Altrouge Brunestud, as the first person to negotiate with Roa, are you sure this is all you have?"

"... certainly."

The sound ended there. Altrouge Brunestud seemed still in a daze, letting out a soft breath as she said, "I'm different from those lackeys of Crimson Moon. If she were to be fully resurrected, as a failed experiment and someone who has always been a mortal enemy of White Wing Duke, my fate wouldn't be too good."

I had already resigned myself to my fate, but your appearance made me want to fight back. Unlike me, you raised the flag of rebellion against that system and won, didn't you? If I just accepted my fate like this, it would be too embarrassing."

"If you want to stop Crimson Moon's resurrection, you might as well deal with Roa first. Although his soul is immortal, you have quite a few tricks up your sleeve."

Bai Mo was completely unmoved by the princess in front of him. His intuition told him that the woman in front of him was a scheming person, and if he completely trusted such a person, he would only be the one to die.

At this moment, the surrounding environment began to tremble. Bai Mo had found Ciel's location. Altrouge Brunestud seemed to have something to say, but then gave up.

"Well, I've said what I needed to say. I was hoping you'd wish me good luck, but it seems I'll have to rely on myself now." Altrouge Brunestud's figure disappeared.

Bai Mo found his way and threw a punch behind him. Everything around him shattered and turned pitch black, with only a small band of light floating in the air. Bai Mo reached out and touched it, and instantly a sharp pain shot through his fingertips.

"Isn't this just to delay us, or are they trying to get something from us? One end of this beam of light leads to the exit, and the other end should be Ciel, right? Either way, it could help me."

Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Mo turned and followed the light away.

After Ciel was caught in the nightmare Magecraft of the Night of Wallachia, everything around him changed. He was put into a body bag, surrounded by darkness, and he didn't even have a Black Keys on him.

"This is the Magecraft of the Thirteenth Night of Wallachia! Damn it, I should have known better. Those vampires controlled so many people, probably avoiding the Church's influence on intelligence in this area. The conditions for the Night of Wallachia have been met."

The thirteenth patriarch was once the head of the Atlas Institute: Tsbia Eltnam Oberon, known as the Magecraft of Nightmares.

"Calm down. The Night of Wallachia should only last one night. Is it just to buy time for Roa?"

Just as Ciel was pondering, a sharp, pointed awl suddenly pierced her chest. It was an iron awl as thick as a wrist, freshly taken from the furnace and glowing red-hot. As the object pierced through her, memories flooded Ciel's mind; she remembered.

"Is this the time when I was taken away by the Church and repeatedly executed?" Despite being so severely injured, Ciel was not greatly shaken. Ciel was already very familiar with the pain of long-term inhuman battles.

Moreover, this was her memory; before this, Ciel had been executed by the Church for a full six months.

Ciel had endured an unknown amount of torture, spending an unknown amount of time in the dark body bag, when a ray of light shone in. A somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar voice rang out:

"Really? How about this for you, Elesia?"

It was a small cluster of candlelight, carrying a hint of warmth, but this warmth caused Ciel's pupils to tremble. She instinctively looked behind her, to where the calendar was—a place she knew all too well.

Tormented by this nightmare every night, May 3, 2005, Elesia's sixteenth birthday. On this day, Elesia was replaced by Roa, and subsequently, she personally handed over her parents...

The blood of her loved ones splattered on her face once again, and this caused her even more pain than the high-temperature torture instruments used by the Church.

"No... no!"

Intense pain transformed into a stream of light that flowed outwards, and the voice rang out again, but this time Ciel could not hear it.

"Indeed, the strength of this power is closely related to emotions. Fortunately, I obtained this power in advance, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to detect that Elesia's soul could remain."

Hehe, isn't the connection of souls wonderful? I was so sure I wouldn't have any feelings anymore, but thank goodness for you, Elesia. You've helped me twice in a row, you're truly my benefactor.

In his previous life, Roa had made thorough preparations for this, utilizing the ancestor's assistance and even the Church's actions. The allure of this power was too great, so great that both the Church and the Dead Apostle were willing to give everything to make it bear fruit.

Zu's assistance provided the environment for this breakthrough, while Ciel's pain became the best motivation for the breakthrough. Elesia had already made a lot of preparations to ensure that this crucial step would not go wrong.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai Mo arrived at the scene and saw Ciel lying on the ground.

Her eyes were like those of a dead person, completely unable to see anything, only two lines of clear tears flowed down her cheeks.

"They've arrived? It's a pity, though, I've already collected almost all of them. While more is always better, Elesia is probably spoiling by now and has little value left."

"Since you and I are both possessors of this power, why don't we discuss it from an academic perspective?"

Roa's voice rang out, but Bai Mo didn't say much. He came to Ciel's side. This was a dream that overlapped reality and illusion, and for Ciel, it was no different from happening again.

Bai Mo was able to easily break the code, partly because of the unique nature of the Ryougi Lataib, but also largely because he had no past in this world.

"Ciel!" Upon hearing Bai Mo's call, Ciel's eyes seemed to flicker for a moment, but he remained kneeling on the pool of blood, unmoved.

"Hey, you're not trying to wake her up, are you? Don't waste time, wait until tonight ends and the Night of Wallachia dissipates..."

"Shut up!" Bai Mo's voice was filled with rage, and a murderous intent surged from his body. "You want to understand this power? I'll grant your wish after I get out. I'll use this power to give you, this bastard who exploits others' suffering, a gruesome death."

Bai Mo placed one hand on Ciel's head, and a strange power seemed to flow in the surrounding air—it was the Asura Way.

Ciel closed her eyes; her consciousness was forcibly restarted by Bai Mo.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, and Ciel opened her eyes, a cold sweat instantly breaking out on her body. But the next moment, her gaze froze, for she saw the calendar on her bedside table: June 13, 2005—more than a month since her birthday.

"Something seems wrong. How could I..." Ciel pinched himself, the pain rushing to his brain, instantly dispelling his sleepiness. Looking around, he realized that this was indeed his room.

"Elesia! Are you awake?"

A familiar scream rang out, startling Ciel. She opened her door with some fear and tiptoed downstairs. A blood-soaked scene flashed before her eyes, leaving her unsure of what was real and what was imagined.

"Elesia, didn't you sleep well last night? Here, I made some coffee." Her father's figure appeared in front of her. The feeling of being controlled by Roa was completely gone, as if it had all been a nightmare.

Without a moment's hesitation, Elesia embraced her loved ones, tears silently streaming down her face.

Given Ciel's psyche, even if the Night of Wallachia wanted to shake her, it would require a long period of painful torment. Bai Mo didn't have that time, but fortunately, after learning the Asura Way, he began to deduce and study another power that would emerge from the Asura Way thousands of years later.

Illusory Demon Art.

Elesia hugged her father tightly. Under the influence of the Illusory Demon Art, the pain was blurred and her senses were affected. She held the person in front of her tightly. She was no longer the person who had once been the Executor; she was just a little girl who had been reunited with her family after a long separation.

Seeing that he could obtain no more, Roa disappeared from the scene.

The two embraced for a long, long time. Then, as if realizing something, Ciel slowly raised her head, and there before her was undoubtedly her father's face.

"What's wrong, Elesia? Did you have a nightmare?"

Ciel was silent for a moment, then whispered, "If only this weren't an illusion..."

Watching this scene, Bai Mo sighed inwardly. Controlling the Illusory Demon Way, her father fed the toffee on the table to Ciel's mouth and stroked his daughter's hair.

"Don't worry about it, Ciel. Just like this candy, some things only need to be sweet; they don't need any other meaning."

The surrounding area receded like a tide, and Ciel's mind stabilized. The power of the Ryougi Lataib slowly circulated, and soon, the Night of Wallachia was completely shattered. This space would return to normal.

The warm embrace was gone, Ciel touched her lips lightly, where a sweet sensation slowly welled up on her taste buds.

Bai Mo felt a small beast rest its head against his back, silent and trembling slightly. He didn't say anything either, just quietly watched as everything around him returned to normal.