Chapter 302: Absorbing the Wraith

The hardest part about becoming the master of Black Castle was establishing a mental connection with the Devil Vine.

Only by forming that connection could one truly take control of the entire Black Castle and Black Castle Foreset—both for offense and defense.

That was why the Devil Vine was the true core of the entire Black Castle, built far away from the Wizard Tower.

After Keli completed this step, she no longer needed Saul’s guidance—Saul didn’t even understand it as well as she did.

So Saul left Keli alone underground. After politely and deliberately bidding farewell to the Devil Vine, he went alone to the laboratory on the third floor.

Senior Byron was already waiting there.

When Saul arrived at the doorway, he saw the lab door was open. The senior stood quietly inside, still breathing, yet looking like a corpse.

Even closer to death than the disobedient corpses in the second storeroom.

Becoming a True Wizard seemed even more dangerous than Saul had imagined.

“Senior, are you all right?”

Upon hearing Saul’s voice, Byron slowly twisted his head. The skin on his neck stretched and compressed, forming deep, heavy folds.

It looked more like clothing than flesh.

Byron didn’t speak, but Saul could already guess why he and Keli had come looking for him.

Saul closed the door behind him. From the corners of the room, thick dark green vines grew rapidly, sealing the doorway and creeping up the walls, turning the space into a green prison.

Byron’s neck rotated along with the Devil Vine, then snapped back to face forward, looking at Saul in confusion.

He couldn’t speak now, but his eyes conveyed his meaning clearly enough.

“Keli has already connected with the Devil Vine,” Saul rubbed his nose. “It’s just that my relationship with it is a bit better, so sometimes it’s willing to help me out.”

Byron stared at Saul for a few seconds, then silently nodded.

Byron: Fine then.

Byron had once tried to buy Saul’s method of absorbing wraiths, but even if Saul had taught it to him, Byron wouldn’t have been able to use it. So Saul had promised instead to help him absorb the wraith inside his body.

Now that Byron had rushed over with Keli instead of waiting at the Wizard Tower, Saul knew the senior must’ve already hit his limit. The out-of-control wraith needed to be absorbed as soon as possible.

That’s why, after confirming that Keli could bond with the Devil Vine, he’d left her behind and rushed over to check Byron’s condition.

Seeing that the other man couldn’t even speak, Saul knew it had to be done immediately.

This was his first time absorbing a wraith for someone else. He had to be extra cautious.

So Saul instructed the Devil Vine to seal the entire room, to prevent anyone from entering. Partly to stop Keli from bursting in and disrupting his progress, and partly to protect her from any side effects.

Once the Devil Vine had obediently sealed the chamber, Saul stepped forward and carefully examined the wraith inside Byron.

“Senior, can you loosen the wraith in your body a bit? I need to confirm where to begin.”

Byron hesitated for a moment, then quickly nodded. He took off his outer robe and the linen tunic underneath, revealing a body that was slightly swollen.

Immediately after, his torso suddenly swelled to nearly double its size, vaguely resembling those human balloon figures they’d seen in Hanging Hands Valley.

But this time, unlike before, Byron’s bulging body didn’t swell into a smooth sphere. Instead, it looked more like a cratered meteorite.

Saul noticed that every now and then, a terrifying human face would appear on the surface of Byron’s skin.

Sunken eyes and mouth, protruding nose bridge and cheekbones.

Each face bore a twisted, savage expression.

They were desperately trying to break free, trying to shatter the control Byron had over them.

The senior’s face was twisted with strain as well. Clearly, maintaining this state was already exhausting for him.

Saul narrowed his eyes and swiftly scanned Byron’s entire body.

Suddenly, he flicked his wrists. The skin at his fingertips blended and warped, gradually elongating—his arms transforming into two thick, octopus-like tentacles.

Byron, who had been closely watching Saul’s every move, was stunned. His eyes widened in shock.

His eyeballs trembled, as if they might fall out of their sockets at any moment.

“Senior, don’t move,” Saul warned, then thrust his arms forward. The two tentacles shot toward Byron’s throat and heart.

Both of these were fatal points on the human body.

By instinct, Byron tried to dodge Saul’s strike. But remembering Saul’s earlier words, he forcibly suppressed his body’s reflexes and stood still.

The next second, the two tentacles pierced Byron’s skin.

But to Byron’s surprise, he felt no pain.

In fact, he didn’t feel anything at all.

Those two pale gray tentacles felt more like illusions, simply overlapping with his body.

Before he could figure out what was happening, a terrifying suction force pierced through his soul.

As a practitioner of dark-element magic himself, Byron was no stranger to soul-based attacks.

But he had never seen an apprentice capable of such a terrifying soul-level technique.

What frightened him even more was the realization that he couldn’t resist this overwhelming suction force.

Driven by survival instinct, Byron immediately circulated his mental energy, trying his hardest to suppress the soul disturbance, working to bind his soul more tightly to his body.

Like a cat clawing desperately at a couch with all its paws.

Saul glanced up at Byron but didn’t stop him from circulating his mental force.

In fact, Saul was already quite satisfied that Byron had refrained from launching a counterattack with magic.

Since this was his first time absorbing a wraith for someone else, everything had to be figured out as he went.

Saul found that Byron’s attempt to stabilize his own mental force was helpful.

It was like peeling off a bandage that had stuck to skin all day. Saul had told Byron not to move so he could pull forcefully.

And Byron’s instinctive effort to stabilize his soul was like strengthening the “skin” beneath the bandage.

That was absolutely necessary—otherwise, when Saul pulled off the bandage, he might peel off a layer of Byron’s skin as well.

Finally, through the joint efforts of Saul and Byron, the wraith hidden in Byron’s body was completely absorbed by Saul’s tentacles.

In Saul’s mind, it was as if he heard a loud “rip.”

Mission complete!

Saul withdrew his tentacles, and no wounds appeared on Byron’s body.

Watching the senior’s expression gradually calm, Saul smiled and asked, “Senior, how are you feeling now?”

Byron closed his eyes and quietly sensed the changes in his body. After a while, a crack opened in his throat.

“Very good.”

“I haven’t felt this well in a long time.”

Saul let out a breath of relief. He had been worried that absorbing the wraith might cause Byron other problems.

However, during the process, Saul’s tentacles seemed to have uncovered one of the senior’s secrets.

“Senior, your body… don’t tell me your locator…”

Byron opened his eyes and nodded without hesitation.

Saul looked him in the eye and said seriously, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about this.”

For wizard apprentices who hadn’t yet become True Wizards, the locator was their fatal weakness.

An absolute secret.

But just now, while absorbing the wraith, Saul had inevitably sensed the presence of Byron’s locator.

That was probably why Byron had chosen to seek Saul’s help in the first place.

Byron wasn’t surprised by Saul’s promise. He nodded calmly.

“Mm.”

(End of Chapter)

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