Chapter 113 (Continued)

The banshees weren't making strange noises throughout the building on purpose; they were simply lost. Damala was circling around rapidly, trying to catch up with the group of sorcerers from before. I sensed that she was almost out of her mind, frantically tearing open every door and searching inside.

Cyborgs fell in droves, and my undead army began to grow again. Although these undead were of average quality, I kept the ones that weren't eaten. I can take them back and make a special barrier, then throw them inside to let them eat each other. The undead that emerge from this way will be top-quality undead with plenty of resentment.

The surviving cyborgs began to flee in all directions. I used my mental energy to search for a moment and discovered that there were indeed quite a few people in this building. Not only were there several air-raid shelters underground, but there were also some scattered throughout the floors...

Wrong!

I immediately ascended, and the ground I was standing on was now a purplish-black vortex.

The warlock's Space Distortion!

I turned around, and suddenly a tattered sack-like thing was thrown in front of me—wait, isn't this the pink old man I saw on the street earlier? The pink sorcerer old man had his eyes closed, his body was withered and dry, and in an instant he seemed to have aged hundreds of years. I was worried that if I touched him, his flesh would fall off in pieces.

I anxiously cast a buff spell, but it had little effect.

I looked up and saw a female sorcerer floating in the air. She was also wearing a purple dress, but it wasn't overly extravagant. It was very different from the striptease group members that the old man had led earlier. Her clothes were like an evening gown, very proper and elegant, not at all like a sorcerer's attire. She wasn't wearing any strange or heavy makeup, and her hair was even tied up in a small bun, neatly combed.

I just felt that this older female sorceress looked strangely familiar...

"Madam Christine?"

A gasp came from the ground below. We flew high up in the lobby and looked down together. I saw Reynold standing there, looking completely bewildered.

Bang--

There was another muffled thud. Caught off guard, I saw Reynold fly onto the second-floor platform railing, bounce, and fall back to the ground, his face contorted in pain. He lay sprawled on the floor, his waist having slammed directly against the railing. I even automatically imagined the sound of bones breaking in my head—and it seemed his bones were indeed broken, because I saw his upper body struggling, while his legs remained motionless.

"You're a spy!" Reynold roared, his face contorted with rage. "Spies are everywhere these days, but I never imagined you were a spy! How could this be!"

Yes, how is that possible? A warlock acting as a spy for years without anyone noticing?

"You even married a prince of the Federation Royal Family!" Reynold roared angrily.

... Hmm, I get it. I guess it's because she seduced the prince, and with someone backing her up, no one will bother to investigate her.

I looked at the female sorceress who clearly knew Reynold... Wait, I remember now, no wonder she looked familiar. This woman, isn't she the Speaker of the Federal Congress? The Speaker of Parliament whose duties I could never quite distinguish from Reynold's! I remember her! Because Reynold mentioned this woman quite often when we were together. He described Reynold as a kind but overly strict woman who, because she had no children of her own, always interfered in Reynold's marriage.

So, the sorcerer also became a politician?

A warlock who managed to fool even a politician with a mind as twisted as Reynold? Wow, has the warlock mutated?

However, the next second I flew in front of Reynold, raised my hand and threw out Hellfire, burning away the sorceress's large fireball.

--I could clearly sense the power of the Abyss within her flames.

Therefore, I was extremely puzzled. "Warlocks who throw fireballs, isn't your bloodline power derived from the ancient Balrog? Balrogs are creatures that were corrupted by the Prime Material Plane in the ancient divine era; it's impossible for them to leave Abyss power in their bloodline offspring."

The sorceress looked at me, then sneered. Instead of answering my question, she asked with a mocking expression, "Flame of Fury? You've been hiding it even better than I have. Don't you hold a grudge against your ex-boyfriend who dumped you?"

Reynold lay at my feet, his face deathly pale (he always turns pale when this comes up, but I would never actually kill him because of it; well, even if he wasn't afraid or guilty, there's really no need for that, since I wasn't head over heels in love with him, and we did have a pretty good time together for a while, but now's not the time to talk about that). I glanced down at him. "No, to be precise, I was the one who broke up with him first. I was the one who dumped him."

The sorceress Kelisiting seemed a little stunned... Hmm, I guess she was just trying to distract me with some nonsense, and didn't really want to discuss emotional issues with me.

Actually, I was just rambling on and on to distract her; I'm not just someone who does experiments.

"It's no use," Kelisiting said. "I know you're the Flame of Fury, and what you did in the Holy Dragon Empire is known worldwide, but what good does it do? You wouldn't believe it, would you? I've obtained an ancient artifact that can perfectly counter all dark mages. All your Black Magic, undead, and skeletons will be suppressed by the power of this artifact!"

... Okay, fine, I take back what I said earlier. She is indeed a sorcerer—explaining her battle strategy before fighting the enemy. The only people who would do something so stupid are cannon fodder villains who don't survive past level three in TV dramas, or sorcerers. Did she really obtain some powerful weapon and get carried away? In any case, I think the transcript of this female speaker's speech to the reporter was definitely written by her secretary.

At that moment, the other sack beside me... well, the old sorcerer, slowly opened his eyes. He looked at the sorceress floating in the air, and suddenly, murky tears welled up in his eyes... This is the kind of plot I fear most: someone on our side has an entangled relationship with the enemy... and it looks like a rather melodramatic entanglement.

"Selina..." the old sorcerer said.

Hmm, is that Madam Christine's name?

Then I realized that I might have been made love-struck by Moli and Anna! Their relationship wasn't what I had guessed at all!

Suddenly, the old pink-haired sorcerer roared, "You scum! Selina trusted you so much, yet you drained her lifeblood!"

Hmm...

"Hahahahaha!" Kelisiting let out her standard villainous laugh. Since she was going to reveal a lot of useful information on her own, I decided to patiently wait for her to finish her lines. All I heard was her saying, "Teacher, if it weren't for Selina's antics, insisting on dragging me to explore the ruins, would I have had my bloodline corrupted by demons, rendering me unable to use magic anymore? So, isn't it only right that I absorb her power?"

"Then why didn't you stop her?" The old man on the ground coughed angrily. "Greed, greed! You're just making excuses for your actions! I saw you as the Speaker of the Federation and thought you had reformed, but who knew you would collude with the Machine Zealots and sabotage the peace of the Federation!"

"What makes you think you can control me? You're just an empty shell now. I'll make good use of your power," the sorceress said smugly. "Once I stop the Machine Zealots from destroying the Federation capital, I'll have enough popular support and a reason to declare war and ramp up military production. Do you know what's the most profitable thing right now? War economy! I'm doing this for the Federation's future! And in this way, magic will be in high demand like never before to combat the Machine Zealots. Those engineers will then know what the right path is!"

... Wouldn't that make me a magic fanatic?

Reynold and I froze in astonishment, though we were surprised at different things.

"You... you're obsessed with money?" Reynold exclaimed in shock, forgetting even the pain. He roared, "Do you know how many casualties war causes? The banknotes you hold in your hand are covered in the blood of innocent civilians! You're a speaker, not a warmonger! How can you make money off the blood and flesh of citizens like this!"

"Enough with the nonsense." Kelisiting maintained her amusing sneer. "Survival of the fittest, the strong prey on the weak. I know better than you what it's like to be powerless, but it's useless now. Go spread your peace in hell!"